UCLA has earned a top position in the closely watched U.S. News & World Report annual ranking of the nation's colleges and universities, placing second among public universities.

 

Among all institutions, public and private, UCLA moved up a slot to No. 24, sharing that berth with the University of Virginia, which is public, and USC, which is private. The ranking, which puts Harvard, Princeton and Yale in the top three spots, places an emphasis on factors that tend to favor private universities, such as endowments, alumni giving and student–faculty ratios.

 

"It reflects the dedication of UCLA's faculty, staff and students that UCLA maintained its outstanding record even amid the challenges facing public higher education across the country," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. "It reinforces our continued faith in UCLA's future as a great university."

 

U.S. News also called out UCLA in a number of specific categories, including ethnic diversity, where the campus was among 20 universities highlighted; economic diversity — UCLA had the highest percentage of Pell Grant recipients (39 percent) among the 25 universities listed; undergraduate engineering, in which UCLA tied for 20th among 75 universities; "Programs to Look For," in which the campus was among 33 universities commended in the Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects listing; and the relatively new "High School Counselors' Picks" category, in which high school guidance counselors were asked about their experience with and knowledge of colleges and universities — only 28 national universities made it onto this list.

 

Among the top 30 public universities, other UC campuses ranked high, including UC Berkeley (No. 1), UC Davis and UC San Diego (tied at 8), UC Santa Barbara (10) and UC Irvine (12).

 

In August, the Academic Ranking of World Universities by China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University placed the campus second among U.S. public universities and 12th among all universities. This survey is based heavily on faculty publications and research citations, as well as the number of alumni and faculty who have won Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals. UCLA's faculty has included five Nobel laureates, and in 2006, mathematics professor Terence Tao was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal, widely considered the "Nobel Prize in mathematics."

 

Also in August, the 2012 Washington Monthly rankings — which are based on social mobility, research and service — rated UCLA sixth in the nation.

 

In March, UCLA also fared very well in U.S. News & World Report's 2013 rankings of the best graduate schools.

 

For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.