Facts and Figures

The Speed Scientific School was established in 1925 as a result of an endowment from the James Breckenridge Speed Foundation, a memorial to the late James Breckenridge Speed created by his son and daughter, Dr. William S. Speed and Mrs. Olive Speed Sackett of Louisville. The income from this endowment is used exclusively as a supplementary means of support of the activities for the school.

James Breckenridge Speed (1844-1912), an industrial pioneer in the City of Louisville, was the scion of an illustrious Kentucky family. He was a leader in the establishment of Louisville ‘s street railway system. He also developed and operated large coal interests in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and was among the first to recognize the significance that Portland Cement would have in the growth of America. The industries in which he maintained an active interest until his death in 1912 have been a nucleus around which the City of Louisville and its greater metropolitan area have grown to their present industrial stature. It is fitting that his memory be perpetuated in an engineering school bearing his name.

Dr. William S. Speed and Mrs. Olive Speed Sackett contributed generously to the building of the school, having made additional grants toward the erection of the James B. Speed Building, Frederic M. Sackett Hall, and William S. Speed Hall. Mrs. Virginia Speed, wife of Dr. Speed, also contributed gifts and financial support prior to her death in 1969.

In 2003, the J.B. Speed Scientific School officially changed its name to the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.

You may already know that Speed School is one of the most established, most diverse Engineering schools in the country. Here are the numbers behind those claims.

Facts at a Glance: Fall 2022

J. B. Speed School
Year established1925
Undergraduate students1,905
Graduate students634
Master of Engineering students199
Master of Science students297
PhD students139
Total student enrollment2,582
Female605
Male1,977

 

Ethnicity Enrollment BreakdownPercentage of EnrollmentSpeed School Students
Asian7.90%204
Hispanic/Latino6.51%168
Black/African American7.36%190
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander0.0%2
Non-resident Alien6.31%163
Two or More Races5.00%129
Unknown0.27%7
White68.83%1,772

 

Degrees Conferred
Academic YearBSMEngMSPhDCertificates
2021-2022372168653430
2020-2021405176592321
2019-2020413161572026
2018-2019411217422526
2017-2018445177703017
2016-201737716364269
2015-2016301198711912
2014-201527217752407
2013-2014247147364928
2012-2013255218242627

Departmental data is available for the following: