For an unprecedented fourth year in a row, The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) has been named the Ideal Employer by engineering and science college students in the 2005 Universum Undergraduate Survey.

The survey polled more than 29,000 undergraduate students at 123 leading universities across the country. Produced annually since 1999, the study measures students' perceptions of companies and expectations of career goals, salary, company benefits and other employee programs. Results are placed into specific categories, such as Ideal Employer and Ideal Diversity Employer, and are then further defined by school, gender, minority background and area of study, such as business, engineering and science, liberal arts and information technology.

"We are very pleased that engineering and science college students throughout the United States continue to recognize Boeing as a great place to work," said Candace Ismael, Boeing vice president for Employee and Staffing Services. "The word is being spread that Boeing offers diverse programs and career opportunities for people interested in doing amazing things with their education."

The survey's Ideal Employer category noted that students are drawn to companies that provide competitive compensation, career development opportunities, mentorship programs, attractive locations and exciting products. In addition to these characteristics, minority students cited the existence of support group networks and senior representation of minorities as key attractions. In the Ideal Diversity Employer category, Boeing ranked 12th, up from 25th in 2004, and first among aerospace companies.

"Boeing aspires to be a global employer of choice," said Rick Stephens, Boeing senior vice president for Internal Services. "Employees are the company's strength and give it the competitive advantage it needs to compete on a global scale. Bringing together exciting products, lifelong learning, a virtual workplace and excellent benefits creates a vital Boeing workplace in which professional and personal goals can be achieved."

"The continued strength of Boeing's globally recognized brand has helped the company maintain its number-one position among engineering and science students for the past four years in the U.S.," said Tracy Lynn Van Es, vice president of Sales and Research for Universum Communications. "Today's engineering and science students seek a place of employment where they can apply their knowledge, pursue further education, achieve work-life balance and gain hands-on experience from the start. They are looking for companies that will enable them to build a good foundation for their individual careers."

In addition to the opportunity to work on some of the most challenging programs in the world, Boeing offers its Learning Together program, one of the world's leading corporate tuition-payment programs, along with a Virtual Workplace program that enables employees to have flexibility in where and when they work.