San Diego universities rise in latest U.S. News rankings
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San Diego universities climbed in the new U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best Colleges Rankings released Monday.
Driving the news: UC San Diego earned the highest ranking locally, jumping to 28th (from 34th) among national universities and 6th (from 8th) on the public schools list.
- UCSD's undergraduate computer science and engineering programs ranked in the top 20 nationally.
Why it matters: Many prospective students, parents and school counselors use the rankings as a guide in choosing colleges and universities.
Zoom in: University of San Diego, which is private, dropped one spot to 98th among national universities, while rising to 54th for best value.
- San Diego State University, which is part of the Cal State system, rose nearly 50 spots to 105 among national universities.
- SDSU also rose in the ranks among public universities to 51st.
Of note: UCSD and SDSU ranked 31st and 38th respectively for social mobility, which assesses how well schools graduate economically disadvantaged students.
The big picture: Several California universities are among the highest-ranked public schools in the U.S.
- UC Berkeley and UCLA tied for No. 1, while UC Davis and UCSD tied for 6th.
The latest: The formula changed for this year's rankings, putting more emphasis on social mobility and graduation outcomes, including considering students' backgrounds and debt load.
- The list no longer factors in an institution's class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing or the proportion of graduates who borrow federal loans.
- That modification factored into many public universities nationwide abruptly rising in the rankings, while private schools fell.
Between the lines: The U.S. News report is one of the most influential college rankings and has helped define the pecking order of the higher education system since the rankings debuted 1983.
Yes, but: Some higher education institutions have called the rankings "unreliable and unfair," and a number of them have dropped out, including Columbia University and Harvard Medical School.
- U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has criticized the rankings, calling them "a joke," and earlier this year said they've created "an unhealthy obsession with selectivity."
Go deeper: See the full rankings, including for specific academic programs.