Virginia Tech’s online master of information technology degree program once again earned a No. 2 ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 Top Online Education rankings.

The program — a partnership between Pamplin and the College of Engineering — has maintained a No. 2 ranking for four years in a row, behind the University of Southern California.

The program has been highly ranked every year since U.S. News debuted the Top Online Rankings in 2012.

Virginia Tech’s master of information technology program comprises courses from Pamplin’s Department of Accounting and Information Systems, Department of Business Information Technology, and Department of Management, and the College of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science and Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“The success of the master of information technology program reflects our commitment to high-quality innovative teaching and our expertise in business intelligence and analytics,” said Pamplin dean Robert Sumichrast. He added that the program has also seen increased demand and enrollments.

Parviz Ghandforoush, Pamplin’s associate dean for Graduate Programs and executive director of the master of information technology program, said that the curriculum in this interdisciplinary degree is designed to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of concepts and technologies to succeed in their career. Hundreds of students have graduated from the program since 1999 and many of them are in leadership roles in the IT nation.