AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin rose seven spots to No. 49 in the latest undergraduate ranking of national universities from U.S. News & World Report while earning multiple top 10 placements in business and engineering.
Among public universities, UT rose three spots to No. 15. UT is the top-ranked public university in Texas and the region, as it has been for many years.
One of the most widely referenced standards for measuring undergraduate programs, the U.S. News national university ranking is based on 20 factors.
UT’s rise this year reflects its ongoing focus on student success and academic programs. The rise was primarily driven by increased graduation rates and a stronger academic reputation among higher education peers compared with previous years.
“These rankings show that UT’s strategic focus on students graduating on time in our high-quality degree programs is working and is gaining momentum,” said President Gregory L. Fenves. “By striving to improve student success, especially engagement of first-year students, and recruiting and retaining the best faculty, UT is creating a stronger academic experience for all students. As graduation rates have increased, we are able to admit a thousand more first-year students than UT was admitting six years ago, providing greater access for students of all backgrounds.”
The university earned many top 10 placements in business and engineering, the two undergraduate disciplines that U.S. News ranks each fall. (The publication ranks a complete range of academic disciplines at the graduate level each spring. In the latest graduate rankings, UT had 49 programs in the top 10, including five No. 1-ranked programs.)
In the undergraduate business school rankings released this week, UT was No. 6 overall with nine top 10 specialty rankings:
- No. 1 in accounting
- No. 4 in management information systems
- No. 4 in marketing
- No. 5 in finance
- No. 5 in quantitative analysis/methods
- No. 6 in real estate
- No. 7 in insurance
- No. 8 in entrepreneurship
- No. 9 in management
UT rose from No. 11 to No. 9 in the undergraduate engineering program rankings this year, with seven top 10 specialty rankings:
- No. 1 in petroleum engineering
- No. 4 in chemical engineering
- No. 4 in civil engineering
- No. 5 in environmental/environmental health engineering
- No. 8 in aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical
- No. 9 in computer
- No. 10 in electrical/electronic/communications
In other notable specialty rankings, UT ranked No. 21 for undergraduate teaching, No. 23 for serving students who are military veterans and No. 35 among high school counselors’ top picks.
”While these rankings are significant, the important message is that UT is improving as a university, focusing on teaching, the student experience and academic rigor,” said Maurie McInnis, the executive vice president and provost. “We’ve always been known as a major research university. Now, with a stronger focus on providing a more supportive undergraduate experience, we are able to help more students launch their careers and pursue meaningful lives.”
UT’s rise this year correlated with improvements in five of the 20 factors measured by U.S. News. An increase in UT’s six-year graduation rate was the most significant factor. Increases in two student selectivity metrics also contributed: the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen and the percentage who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class. UT also saw increases in its perennially strong academic reputation ratings from high school counselors and peers at other universities.
U.S. News is one of multiple recent rankings to recognize UT. UT was No. 8 in the latest ranking of best-value public colleges from Kiplinger (2017) and No. 12 among U.S. public colleges, according to Business First (2018). UT is No. 31 globally, according to the Center for World University Rankings (2018).
