UC System Honored in Best Colleges Rankings; Cal and UCLA Named #1 Public University

For the fourth year in a row all of UC’s undergraduate campuses have placed in the top 100 of all universities across the country, as part of the latest edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges list. UC Berkeley and UCLA tied for the top spot this year among all public universities.

UC campuses excelled in important subcategories of rankings, including on a specific social mobility list, which includes a strong focus on first-generation and Pell Grant student performance. The UC system also excelled on the Best Colleges for Veterans ranking, with eight campuses in the top 50. UC Berkeley and UCLA tied for No. 3; UC Davis and UC San Diego tied for No. 12; UC Irvine tied for No. 17; and UC Santa Barbara tied for No. 19.

Like many other national rankings, U.S. News updated its rankings methodology this year to increase focus on student outcomes, and have begun giving more to weight to measurements such as social mobility, graduation rates, manageable debt and post-graduate success. The news item that the University of California published on the rankings includes hyperlinks to more info about the publication’s methodology, as well as a more detailed breakdown of how different campuses were perceived.