Entrance sign at the University of Florida on September 12, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida, USA. Photo and Caption: Bryan Pollard/Shutterstock.com
The University of Florida (UF) has placed sixth on the 2021 list of the state’s top-ranked college. As of Monday, September 14, UF is tied for sixth place with the University of California, Santa Barbara, with both schools improving from seventh place in 2019. The university also ranks No. 30 in the combined list of public and private universities, up from No. 34. The public university climbed four spots in the U.S. News and World Report’s national rankings.
UF was also tied with Stanford University and Yale University as the No. 7 university in the country among both public and private institutions on a “student outcome” measure that includes freshman retention, graduation rates, social mobility for low-income students and student debt, the school said in the release.
The popular rankings are based on 17 factors, including graduation rates, class sizes, admissions selectivity and faculty pay. The publication added two criteria this year related to graduate indebtedness and gave less weight to SAT/ACT scores, high school class standing and alumni giving rates.
Three UF undergraduate programs also moved up in ranking. The Warrington College of Business rose from No. 28 to No. 24; the College of Engineering from No. 34 to No. 32; and the computer science program within the College of Engineering debuted at No. 48 out of 481 universities.
Princeton University took the top spot as the best school in the country for the tenth straight year.
Several other Florida universities also made the list, including the University of Miami (UM), which moved up 8 places from last year and tied for the 49th spot with Lehigh University, Northeastern University and Pepperdine University. Florida State University ranked 58th, along with Syracuse University, the University of Maryland-College Park, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Washington.
UM, based in Coral Gables, ranked No. 53 in fall 2018 and No. 46 in fall 2017.
Florida State University in Tallahassee tied for the 58th spot in the best colleges ranking. It placed No. 19 among top public schools, tying with the University of Maryland in College Park, the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and the University of Washington.
Florida International University, based in Miami, tied for 95th place among public universities and for the 187th place nationally.
The University of South Florida in Tampa tied on No. 103 nationally. It tied for the No. 46 spot in the public school’s list.
The University of South Florida ranked 103rd, along with eight other institutions, including the University of Oregon and the University of Colorado Boulder. The University of Central Florida (UCF) moved up from 166th spot last year to 160th, tying with nine other institutions, including the University of Mississippi and the University of Arkansas.
UCF also ranked 16th in the “Most Innovative” schools category, tying with Cornell University. Arizona State University in Tempe placed first in that ranking.
UCF’s ranking is based on nominations from officials at other institutions who were asked to identify peers they thought were making the most innovative improvements in areas like curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology and facilities.
Check out the results in the U.S. News and World Report website.
