This article features top engineering colleges in Rhode Island that offer master and doctoral degrees in the fields of biological engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, etc. Please be informed that each school receives national wide rank as the ranking compares all engineering schools in the United States. Some important ranking factors include average GRE scores, alumni surveys, current student interviews, institutional research publications, and peer college assessment. In the following list of best engineering schools in the state of Rhode Island, you can see tuition cost for both in-state and out-of-state students, acceptable rates and admissions statistics for each top ranked engineering college.
| National Ranking | Rhode Island Top Engineering Programs |
| 46 | Brown University (Providence, RI) Overall acceptance rate: 21.1% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): 780 Tuition: Full-time: $41,328 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 291 Research expenditures per faculty member: $338,102 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $21,976,691 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 4.5% |
| 148 | University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI) Overall acceptance rate: 49.2% Average GRE quantitative score (master’s and Ph.D. students): N/A Tuition: In-state, full-time: $10,432 per year, Out-of-state, full-time: $23,130 per year Total graduate engineering enrollment: 251 Research expenditures per faculty member: $112,351 Engineering school research expenditures (2010-2011 fiscal year): $7,078,140 Faculty membership in National Academy of Engineering: 0.0% |
History of the Oscars
The creator of the Oscars is Louis Mayer (Lazar Meir), one of the founders of the famous film studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer and the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 1927, on the initiative of Louis Mayer, the American Film Academy was created. The tasks of the new organization, essentially the trade union of filmmakers, were to mediate in resolving labor disputes and improve the image of the industry as a whole. Entry into the academy was open to directors, screenwriters, actors, producers, and technicians.
The first president of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was “King of Hollywood” Douglas Fairbanks, a well-known and respected actor, screenwriter, director and producer; one of the founders of the film studio United Artists.
It was Douglas Fairbanks, along with Louis Mayer, who proposed to organize an annual award for merit in the field of cinema. A system was developed for nominating applicants for the award and selecting winners, and in 1929 the first prizes were awarded.
The first Oscar ceremony took place on May 16, 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. About two hundred and seventy people participated in it, and the ticket cost five dollars, and it lasted only fifteen minutes.
The winners in twelve categories were announced, with Wings being the best film, Janet Gaynor being the best actress and Emil Jannings being the best actor.
Interestingly, the German film actor Emil Jannings became the first person to receive an Academy Award, it was presented to him even before the official ceremony, as he was returning to Europe.
At the same time, the first special prizes were awarded. “For versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing” Charlie Chaplin was awarded the Honorary Academy Award. “For making The Jazz Singer, the first sound picture to revolutionize the industry,” Warner Brothers Film Studios was awarded.
In 1928, under the direction of Metro Goldwyn Mayer artistic director Cedric Gibbons, the design of the statuette was developed, which was presented to the winners of the Academy Award. It was created by the sculptor George Stanley, and the actor, director and screenwriter Emilio Fernandez served as his model.
The figurine depicts a symbolic knight holding a sword and standing on a film reel with five spokes. The five spokes symbolize the five guilds of the academy – directors, screenwriters, actors, producers and technicians.
Oscar figurines are made from an alloy of tin, antimony and copper, called “British alloy”, and covered with a layer of gold. Height “Oscar” – 34 centimeters, weight – almost four kilograms.
When the first awards of the Academy of Cinema were awarded, there was still no name for the award, which is familiar today, and the statuette “Oscar” symbolizing it. As to who exactly invented it, there is no consensus. According to various versions, the authorship in the name of the award may belong either to actress Bette Davis, who noticed the similarity of the statuette with her first husband Oscar, or to one of the administrators of the film academy, Margaret Herrick, who claimed that the prize looks like her uncle Oscar.
One way or another, but already in the thirties this name of the award became generally accepted and in 1939 the name “Oscar” became the official name of the award of the US Film Academy.
According to the rules of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an Oscar-nominated film must be released in theaters in Los Angeles, California in the year preceding the awards year. An exception is made for films nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The film must meet certain technical requirements, and its duration must be more than forty minutes (except for the categories of short films).
Oscar nomination lists are sent to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who vote for one or another candidate. Voting is carried out by guilds, that is, the directors choose the best director, the screenwriters choose the best screenwriter, and so on. All members of the academy vote only in the most honorable nomination – “Best Film of the Year”.
To select the winner in some categories (“Best Special Effects”, “Best Foreign Language Film”, “Best Documentary” and others), the American Film Academy creates special committees.
The Oscar winners are announced during a special gala ceremony and broadcast live.