Pittsburgh universities climb in college rankings
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Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and Point Park University are moving up the ranks among the nation's top colleges, per the U.S. News & World Report.
The big picture: The annual Best Colleges report — one of the nation's most closely watched and hotly debated rankings — now puts more weight on outcomes like student debt, earnings and graduation rates.
Zoom in: Carnegie Mellon rose one spot to No. 20 in the 2026 top 100 universities list, making it Pennsylvania's second-highest ranked school after the University of Pennsylvania at No. 7.
- Pitt rose one spot from last year to No. 69, and Downtown's Point Park University jumped 11 spots to No. 318 — one of the biggest climbs of any school in the state.
- Robert Morris University in Moon Township climbed six spots to No. 208, while Duquesne University dropped four to No. 169 and Chatham slipped four to No. 213.
Zoom out: Pennsylvania had seven schools among the top 100 on the 2026 list.
- Penn State rose four spots to No. 50.
The intrigue: Pittsburgh schools also shine in niche categories, with Carnegie Mellon ranked the nation's fourth most innovative and No. 25 for best value universities.
The bottom line: Rankings like U.S. News & World Report's continue to sway where students apply and enroll, even as critics argue they oversimplify what defines a college's true quality.
- In Pittsburgh, these enrollment decisions determine the strength of our "meds and eds" economy.