UC Berkeley again ranked top public university by U.S. News & World Report

UC Berkeley was honored today (Sept. 22) as the nation’s top public university by U.S. News & World Report, with programs in economics and data science singled out as the best among every school in the country.

Berkeley tied for the top spot among public universities with UCLA. The magazine has ranked Berkeley No. 1 or No. 2 throughout the 21st century. The new ranking follows recent reports by Forbes, Pitchbook and others that have affirmed Berkeley’s status among elite universities nationwide and worldwide.

“This continued recognition reflects the extraordinary work being done every day across our campus by our students, faculty, staff and alumni,” said Chancellor Rich Lyons. “With this community, Berkeley is more than a place — it’s a promise. A promise to prepare the next generation of leaders, advance life-changing discoveries and deliver on our commitment to the greater good.”

The U.S. News rankings, released every year in September, are closely watched by higher education leaders, students and future students worldwide. The magazine evaluated more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, with UC Berkeley counted among more than 400 national universities. It used up to 17 key measures of academic quality and graduate success, including graduation rates, financial resources per student and social mobility. While the rankings focus on undergraduate programs, they also factor in aspects of graduate education and research.

For 2027, Berkeley has 51 top-tier rankings. Of those, 43 were programs in five specific academic disciplines: business, economics, computer science, engineering and psychology. In all, 29 programs in those academic disciplines placed in the top five nationwide, and 38 in the top 10.

In addition, the magazine evaluated eight general benchmarks. Berkeley ranked sixth for best value for in-state students, sixth among best colleges for military veterans, and 10th for undergraduate research and creative projects.

Berkeley earned particular distinction in economics in the latest U.S. News evaluation. Programs in labor economics, public finance economics and international economics (tie) all ranked No. 1 in the nation, with five other programs ranked in the top five nationwide.

Data analytics and science also achieved a No. 1 national ranking. Eight other programs in computer science ranked in the top five.

In engineering, eight programs were in the U.S. News top five.

Undergraduate psychology ranked No. 2 (tie) among U.S. colleges and universities.

Three business programs at Berkeley Haas ranked in the magazine’s top 5.

Other top public universities in the 2027 U.S. News rankings include UCLA (tied for 1st), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (2nd), University of Virginia (3rd) and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (4th). Of all universities in the nation, both public and private, Berkeley tied with UCLA and the University of Notre Dame for 20th place.

Berkeley is regularly recognized as the top public university in the nation by a range of evaluators. Earlier this month, Forbes once again gave Berkeley the top ranking, saying that its methodology is designed to highlight schools that “produce the best academic and career outcomes for students from all economic backgrounds.” In June, QS World University Rankings ranked Berkeley as the top public university in North America for 2027, giving its academic reputation a perfect 100 score. And Pitchbook recently ranked Berkeley No. 1 globally for the fourth straight year, after determining that graduates have founded more venture-backed companies than undergraduate alumni from any other university in the world.