UC campuses earn top spots on US News & World Report’s Best Colleges list

On September 10, 2018, the University of California issued a press release titled, “UC campuses earn top spots on US News & World Report’s Best Colleges list”:

University of California campuses scored half of the top 10 spots for the best public undergraduate education in the nation on the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Colleges rankings released today (Sept. 10).

UCLA and UC Berkeley took the first and second spots, respectively, while UC Santa Barbara came in fifth. UC Irvine was No. 7, UC Davis was No. 10 and UC San Diego took the 12th spot this year. UC Santa Cruz (No. 26), UC Riverside (No. 35) and UC Merced (No. 67) rounded out the rankings.

The U.S. News & World Report ranks universities each fall to help inform prospective students’ decisions on where to apply, taking into account academic reputation, financial resources and selectivity in admissions.

This year, the magazine changed its methodology to better reflect social mobility in its overall rankings for both public and private universities. As a result, most UC campuses saw a significant rise in their standings. UC Riverside had the biggest improvement of any university nationwide, vaulting to No. 85 from No. 124, while UC Merced jumped to No. 136, up 29 spots.

Learn more about UC’s excellence in these and other rankings here.