National universities

National liberal arts colleges

National universities

Name State Sector 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 change since 2010-11 Annual change
Princeton University NJ private 1 1 1 1 2 1 0
Harvard University MA private 2 2 1 1 1 -1 0
Yale University CT private 3 3 3 3 3 0 0
Columbia University NY private 4 4 4 4 4 0 0
Stanford University CA private 4 5 6 5 5 1 1
University of Chicago IL private 4 5 4 5 9 5 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology MA private 7 7 6 5 7 0 0
Duke University NC private 8 7 8 10 9 1 -1
University of Pennsylvania PA private 8 7 8 5 5 -3 -1
California Institute of Technology CA private 10 10 10 5 7 -3 0
Dartmouth College NH private 11 10 10 11 9 -2 -1
Johns Hopkins University MD private 12 12 13 13 13 1 0
Northwestern University IL private 13 12 12 12 12 -1 -1
Washington University in St. Louis MO private 14 14 14 14 13 -1 0
Cornell University NY private 15 16 15 15 15 0 1
Brown University RI private 16 14 15 15 15 -1 -2
University of Notre Dame IN private 16 18 17 19 19 3 2
Vanderbilt University TN private 16 17 17 17 17 1 1
Rice University TX private 19 18 17 17 17 -2 -1
University of California-Berkeley CA public 20 20 21 21 22 2 0
Emory University GA private 21 20 20 20 20 -1 -1
Georgetown University DC private 21 20 21 22 21 0 -1
University of California-Los Angeles CA public 23 23 24 25 25 2 0
University of Virginia VA public 23 23 24 25 25 2 0
Carnegie Mellon University PA private 25 23 23 23 23 -2 -2
University of Southern California CA private 25 23 24 23 23 -2 -2
Tufts University MA private 27 28 28 29 28 1 1
Wake Forest University NC private 27 23 27 25 25 -2 -4
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI public 29 28 29 28 29 0 -1
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill NC public 30 30 30 29 30 0 0
Boston College MA private 31 31 31 31 31 0 0
New York University NY private 32 32 32 33 33 1 0
College of William and Mary VA public 33 32 33 33 31 -2 -1
University of Rochester NY private 33 32 33 35 37 4 -1
Brandeis University MA private 35 32 33 31 34 -1 -3
Georgia Institute of Technology GA public 35 36 36 36 35 0 1
University of California-San Diego CA public 37 39 38 37 35 -2 2
Case Western Reserve University OH private 38 37 37 38 41 3 -1
University of California-Davis CA public 38 39 38 38 39 1 1
Lehigh University PA private 40 41 38 38 37 -3 1
University of California-Santa Barbara CA public 40 41 41 42 39 -1 1
Boston University MA private 42 41 51 53 56 14 -1
Northeastern University MA private 42 49 56 62 69 27 7
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY private 42 41 41 50 41 -1 -1
University of California-Irvine CA public 42 49 44 45 41 -1 7
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign IL public 42 41 46 45 47 5 -1
University of Wisconsin-Madison WI public 47 41 41 42 45 -2 -6
Pennsylvania State University PA public 48 37 46 45 47 -1 -11
University of Florida FL public 48 49 54 58 53 5 1
University of Miami FL private 48 47 44 38 47 -1 -1
University of Washington WA public 48 52 46 42 41 -7 4
Yeshiva University NY private 48 47 46 45 50 2 -1
University of Texas-Austin TX public 53 52 46 45 45 -8 -1
George Washington University DC private 54 52 51 50 51 -3 -2
Ohio State University OH public 54 52 56 55 56 2 -2
Pepperdine University CA private 54 57 54 55 53 -1 3
Tulane University LA private 54 52 51 50 51 -3 -2
Fordham University NY private 58 57 58 53 56 -2 -1
Southern Methodist Unviersity TX private 58 60 58 62 56 -2 2
Syracuse University NY private 58 62 58 62 55 -3 4
University of Connecticut CT public 58 57 63 58 69 11 -1
Brigham Young University-Provo UT private 62 62 68 71 75 13 0
Clemson University SC public 62 62 68 68 64 2 0
Purdue University-West Lafayette IN public 62 68 65 62 56 -6 6
University of Georgia GA public 62 60 63 62 56 -6 -2
University of Maryland at College Park MD public 62 62 58 55 56 -6 0
University of Pittsburgh PA public 62 62 58 58 64 2 0
Texas A&M University-College Station TX public 68 69 65 58 63 -5 1
Worcester Polytechnic Institute MA private 68 62 65 62 64 -4 -6
Rutgers-New Brunswick NJ public 70 69 68 68 64 -6 -1
American University DC private 71 75 77 82 79 8 4
Baylor University TX private 71 75 77 75 79 8 4
University of Iowa IA public 71 73 72 71 72 1 2
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN public 71 69 68 68 64 -7 -2
Virginia Tech VA public 71 69 72 71 69 -2 -2
Clark University MA private 76 75 83 94 86 10 -1
Indiana University-Bloomington IN public 76 75 83 75 75 -1 -1
Marquette University WI private 76 75 83 82 75 -1 -1
Miami University-Oxford (Ohio) OH public 76 75 89 90 79 3 -1
Stevens Institute of Technology NJ private 76 82 75 88 86 10 6
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry NY public 76 86 77 82 79 3 10
Texas Christian University TX private 76 82 92 97 99 23 6
University of Delaware DE public 76 75 75 75 75 -1 -1
University of Massachusetts-Amherst MA public 76 91 97 94 99 23 15
Michigan State University MI public 85 73 72 71 79 -6 -12
University of California-Santa Cruz CA public 85 86 77 75 72 -13 1
University of Vermont VT public 85 82 92 82 94 9 -3
Binghamton University-SUNY NY public 88 97 89 90 86 -2 9
Colorado School of Mines CO public 88 91 77 75 72 -16 3
Stony Brook-State University of New York NY public 88 82 92 111 99 11 -6
University of Alabama AL public 88 86 77 75 79 -9 -2
University of Colorado-Boulder CO public 88 86 97 94 86 -2 -2
University of Denver CO private 88 91 83 82 86 -2 3
University of Tulsa OK private 88 86 83 75 93 5 -2
Drexel University PA private 95 97 83 88 86 -9 2
Florida State University FL public 95 91 97 101 104 9 -4
North Carolina State University-Raleigh NC public 95 101 106 101 111 16 6
University of San Diego CA private 95 91 92 97 94 -1 -4
St. Louis University MO private 99 101 92 90 86 -13 2
University of Missouri MO public 99 97 97 90 94 -5 -2
University of Nebraska-Lincoln NE public 99 101 101 101 104 5 2
University of New Hampshire NH public 99 97 106 101 104 5 -2
Auburn University AL public 103 91 89 82 85 -18 -12
University at Buffalo-SUNY NY public 103 109 106 111 120 17 6
University of Dayton OH private 103 112 115 101 99 -4 9
Iowa State University IA public 106 101 101 97 94 -12 -5
Loyola University Chicago IL private 106 101 106 119 117 11 -5
University of Kansas KS public 106 101 106 101 104 -2 -5
University of Oklahoma OK public 106 101 101 101 111 5 -5
University of Oregon OR public 106 109 115 101 111 5 3
University of San Francisco CA private 106 117 106 119 117 11 11
University of Tennessee TN public 106 101 101 101 104 -2 -5
University of California-Riverside CA public 113 112 101 97 94 -19 -1
University of South Carolina SC public 113 112 115 111 111 -2 -1
University of St. Thomas MN private 113 112 113 115 124 11 -1
Catholic University of America DC private 116 121 120 119 120 4 5
Duquesne University PA private 116 121 120 119 120 4 5
Illinois Institute of Technology IL private 116 109 113 111 111 -5 -7
Michigan Technological University MI public 116 117 120 115 117 1 1
University of the Pacific CA private 116 112 106 101 99 -17 -4
Clarkson University NY private 121 121 115 119 124 3 0
Colorado State University CO public 121 121 134 128 124 3 0
DePaul University IL private 121 121 134 132 136 15 0
Temple University PA public 121 121 125 132 132 11 0
University of Arizona AZ public 121 119 120 124 120 -1 -2
Rutgers-Newark NJ public 126 142 115 143 143 17 16
Seton Hall University NJ private 126 128 131 132 136 10 2
University at Albany-SUNY NY public 126 128 131 138 143 17 2
Arizona State University AZ public 129 142 139 132 143 14 13
Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge LA public 129 135 134 128 124 -5 6
Ohio University OH public 129 135 131 124 124 -5 6
University of Cincinnati OH public 129 135 139 143 156 27 6
University of Kentucky KY public 129 119 125 124 129 0 -10
University of Utah UT public 129 121 125 124 129 0 -8
Hofstra University NY private 135 135 134 128 139 4 0
New School NY private 135 135 125 128 139 4 0
University of Arkansas AR public 135 128 134 132 132 -3 -7
George Mason University VA public 138 141 139 138 143 5 3
Missouri University of Science and Technology MO public 138 128 125 * 129 -9 -10
Oregon State University OR public 138 142 139 138 139 1 4
Washington State University WA public 138 128 125 115 111 -27 -10
Illinois State University IL public 142 152 156 160 156 14 10
Kansas State University KS public 142 135 139 143 132 -10 -7
St. John Fisher College NY private 142 142 151 143 * n/a 0
Howard University DC private 145 142 120 115 104 -41 -3
Oklahoma State University OK public 145 142 139 132 132 -13 -3
St. John's University (NY) NY private 145 152 147 152 143 -2 7
University of Texas-Dallas TX public 145 142 151 143 143 -2 -3
Adelphi University NY private 149 152 155 152 159 10 3
New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ public 149 150 139 138 139 -10 1
San Diego State University CA public 149 152 165 164 183 34 3
University of Alabama-Birmingham AL public 149 152 151 143 151 2 3
University of Illinois-Chicago IL public 149 128 147 150 143 -6 -21
University of Maryland Baltimore County MD public 149 158 160 157 159 10 9
University of Mississippi MS public 149 150 151 143 143 -6 1

National liberal arts colleges

Name State Sector 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 change since 2010-11 Annual change
Williams College MA private 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
Amherst College MA private 2 2 2 2 2 0 0
Swarthmore College PA private 3 3 3 3 3 0 0
Wellesley College MA private 4 7 6 6 4 0 3
Bowdoin College ME private 5 4 6 6 6 1 -1
Pomona College CA private 5 4 4 4 6 1 -1
Middlebury College VT private 7 4 4 5 4 -3 -3
Carleton College MN private 8 7 8 6 8 0 -1
Claremont McKenna College CA private 8 9 10 9 11 3 1
Haverford College PA private 8 9 9 10 9 1 1
Davidson College NC private 11 9 12 11 9 -2 -2
Vassar College NY private 11 13 10 14 12 1 2
United States Naval Academy MD public 13 12 14 14 16 3 -1
Washington and Lee University VA private 14 14 14 12 14 0 0
Colby College ME private 15 22 18 21 23 8 7
Hamilton College NY private 15 14 16 17 18 3 -1
Harvey Mudd College CA private 15 16 12 18 18 3 1
Wesleyan University CT private 15 17 17 12 12 -3 2
Bates College ME private 19 22 22 21 21 2 3
Grinnell College IA private 19 17 22 19 18 -1 -2
Smith College MA private 19 20 18 19 14 -5 1
Colgate University NY private 22 20 18 21 21 -1 -2
Oberlin College OH private 23 25 26 24 23 0 2
Macalester College MN private 24 24 24 25 26 2 0
Scripps College CA private 24 25 24 29 23 -1 1
United States Military Academy NY public 24 17 18 14 16 -8 -7
Bryn Mawr College PA private 27 30 26 25 30 3 3
Colorado College CO private 27 31 28 27 26 -1 4
United States Air Force Academy CO public 27 25 31 33 * n/a -2
Kenyon College OH private 30 32 32 33 32 2 2
University of Richmond VA private 30 25 28 27 32 2 -5
Barnard College NY private 32 32 28 33 26 -6 0
Bucknell University PA private 32 32 32 29 30 -2 0
College of the Holy Cross MA private 34 25 32 29 32 -2 -9
Lafayette College PA private 35 36 39 40 38 3 1
Pitzer College CA private 35 35 43 42 46 11 0
Dickinson College PA private 37 45 46 47 47 10 8
Franklin and Marshall College PA private 37 45 46 42 41 4 8
Skidmore College NY private 37 45 43 49 41 4 8
Whitman College WA private 37 41 43 42 38 1 4
Mount Holyoke College MA private 41 38 32 29 26 -15 -3
Soka University of America CA private 41 41 49 64 * n/a 0
Union College NY private 41 41 41 40 41 0 0
Occidental College CA private 44 41 39 37 36 -8 -3
Bard College NY private 45 38 36 51 38 -7 -7
Centre College KY private 45 49 52 42 47 2 4
Connecticut College CT private 45 45 41 37 41 -4 0
Sewanee-University of the South TN private 45 38 36 33 32 -13 -7
Trinity College CT private 45 36 38 37 36 -9 -9
Gettysburg College PA private 50 50 46 47 47 -3 0
Denison University OH private 51 50 49 49 51 0 -1
DePauw University IN private 51 54 54 53 51 0 3
Furman University SC private 51 52 49 42 41 -10 1
Rhodes College TN private 54 54 52 51 47 -7 0
St. Olaf College MN private 54 52 55 53 51 -3 -2
St. John's College MD private 56 123 133 139 166 110 67
St. Lawrence University NY private 56 56 56 53 55 -1 0
Wheaton College IL private 56 57 56 57 55 -1 1
Lawrence University WI private 59 59 56 60 67 8 0
Sarah Lawrence College NY private 59 * * * * n/a n/a
Beloit College WI private 61 59 63 60 55 -6 -2
Hobart and William Smith Colleges NY private 61 61 60 64 67 6 0
Wabash College IN private 61 57 56 53 58 -3 -4
Gustavus Adolphus College MN private 64 76 85 81 79 15 12
Kalamazoo College MI private 64 61 68 68 71 7 -3
Muhlenberg College PA private 64 65 70 81 75 11 1
Virginia Military Institute VA public 64 65 70 71 62 -2 1
Willamette University OR private 64 61 63 57 59 -5 -3
Berea College KY private 69 76 75 71 67 -2 7
College of Wooster OH private 69 65 63 71 71 2 -4
Hillsdale College MI private 69 82 96 * 88 19 13
Wheaton College MA private 69 65 60 62 59 -10 -4
Agnes Scott College GA private 73 89 75 68 67 -6 16
Earlham College IN private 73 65 82 68 75 2 -8
Illinois Wesleyan University IL private 73 65 70 71 62 -11 -8
St. John's University (MN) MN private 73 76 75 71 62 -11 3
Lewis & Clark College OR private 77 74 70 71 75 -2 -3
Reed College OR private 77 74 75 57 54 -23 -3
Thomas Aquinas College CA private 77 61 82 71 71 -6 -16
Wofford College SC private 77 65 63 64 62 -15 -12
Allegheny College PA private 81 82 82 86 93 12 1
Hendrix College AR private 81 82 70 86 81 0 1
Knox College IL private 81 82 75 71 75 -6 1
Spelman College GA private 81 65 68 62 59 -22 -16
Transylvania University KY private 81 76 75 81 88 7 -5
University of Puget Sound WA private 81 76 85 81 81 0 -5
New College of Florida FL public 87 89 87 94 99 12 2
Southwestern University TX private 87 65 60 71 62 -25 -22
Austin College TX private 89 82 63 64 81 -8 -7
Bennington College VT private 89 100 100 102 122 33 11
College of St. Benedict MN private 89 94 96 90 81 -8 5
Luther College IA private 89 94 100 86 81 -8 5
Millsaps College MS private 89 82 90 85 93 4 -7
St. John's College NM private 89 * * * 187 98 n/a
St. Mary's College of Maryland MD public 89 89 87 90 88 -1 0
St. Mary's College IN private 96 76 87 90 93 -3 -20
Washington and Jefferson College PA private 96 97 90 102 101 5 1
Westmont College CA private 96 94 90 90 99 3 -2
Albion College MI private 99 100 112 102 111 12 1
College of the Atlantic ME private 99 93 90 116 131 32 -6
Drew University NJ private 99 107 100 94 79 -20 8
Hope College MI private 99 100 100 94 88 -11 1
Ohio Wesleyan University OH private 99 100 108 102 105 6 1
St. Michael's College VT private 99 89 90 99 93 -6 -10
Augustana College IL private 105 100 96 86 88 -17 -5
Cornell College IA private 105 97 90 94 81 -24 -8
Goucher College MD private 105 110 110 121 111 6 5
Hampden-Sydney College VA private 105 97 108 94 111 6 -8
Juniata College PA private 105 100 100 102 81 -24 -5
Stonehill College MA private 105 115 100 112 105 0 10
Washington College MD private 105 107 96 110 93 -12 2
Hollins University VA private 112 110 112 116 105 -7 -2
Hanover College IN private 113 115 112 116 114 1 2
Ripon College WI private 113 120 124 116 105 -8 7
Siena College NY private 113 126 112 112 114 1 13
Calvin College MI private 116 100 110 102 101 -15 -16
Susquehanna University PA private 116 115 124 116 114 -2 -1
Sweet Briar College VA private 116 110 100 99 101 -15 -6
Westminster College PA private 116 115 124 121 119 3 -1
Coe College IA private 120 120 112 102 101 -19 0
Lake Forest College IL private 120 110 100 99 105 -15 -10
St. Anselm College NH private 120 120 130 139 122 2 0
St. Norbert College WI private 123 134 138 127 127 4 11
Birmingham-Southern College AL private 124 115 124 102 93 -31 -9
Eckerd College FL private 124 141 138 144 137 13 17
Linfield College OR private 124 123 112 121 105 -19 -1
Presbyterian College SC private 124 126 121 121 119 -5 2
Randolph-Macon College VA private 124 134 112 127 131 7 10
Berry College GA private 129 126 124 121 122 -7 -3
Concordia College-Moorhead MN private 129 138 133 139 137 8 9
Goshen College IN private 129 141 140 139 137 8 12
McDaniel College MD private 129 126 140 139 122 -7 -3
Moravian College PA private 133 138 140 127 131 -2 5
Morehouse College GA private 133 126 124 127 127 -6 -7
Randolph College VA private 133 134 112 112 114 -19 1
Roanoke College VA private 133 126 133 133 158 25 -7
Wesleyan College GA private 133 161 145 151 158 25 28
Whittier College CA private 133 126 145 133 137 4 -7
Alma College MI private 139 126 130 133 137 -2 -13
Central College IA private 139 134 151 144 144 5 -5
Gordon College MA private 139 138 130 144 131 -8 -1
Grove City College PA private 139 141 133 133 127 -12 2
Houghton College NY private 139 141 140 133 137 -2 2
Principia College IL private 139 107 121 112 127 -12 -32
Simpson College IA private 139 154 145 151 144 5 15
University of Minnesota-Morris MN public 139 154 161 144 152 13 15
Wittenberg University OH private 139 123 121 121 114 -25 -16
Centenary College of Louisiana LA private 148 167 170 171 * n/a 19
Hiram College OH private 148 156 167 156 152 4 8
Nebraska Wesleyan University NE private 148 146 145 144 152 4 -2
Oglethorpe University GA private 148 165 164 157 166 18 17
Salem College NC private 148 156 * * 166 18 8
St. Vincent College PA private 148 146 145 157 152 4 -2
Wells College NY private 148 141 133 127 144 -4 -7

*There was a change in the school’s classification, the school was listed as “unranked” or “second tier,” or comparable information could not be located.

SOURCE: U.S. News and World Report.. GRAPHIC: Nick Anderson and Denise Lu / The Washington Post.