FLORIDA, USA — U.S. News & World Report has released its annual rankings of the best colleges across the nation, and the University of South Florida ranked at number 45 among the nation's top public universities.
The ranking marks the fifth consecutive year that USF has been placed in the top 50 public universities, having been ranked at 42 in 2022.
Though USF fell three slots on the public school rankings, it rose in the ranks among all public or private universities. In 2022, it ranked 97th, marking its first time ever to finish in the publication's top 100. This year, its ranking rose to 89th.
Other universities in Florida also made the top 50 list of public universities. The University of Florida ranked sixth in the list of public schools and 28th nationally. Florida State University ranked 23rd among public colleges and 53rd nationally. The University of Central Florida retained its spot from last year at number 64.
Besides USF, other colleges in the Tampa Bay region placed on some of U.S. News' other ranking lists. For instance, among the publication's lists of regional colleges, Florida Polytechnic ranked second on the list of universities in the Southeast region. Meanwhile, New College ranked sixth in Liberal Arts colleges, although this year's ranking did not factor in the changes made to the college this year by the DeSantis-appointed majority to its Board of Trustees and efforts to shape the school into the "Hillsdale College of the South."
U.S. News determines its college rankings by factoring in student graduation and retention rates, student debt, academic reputation, faculty excellence and class size in its methodology to determine annual college rankings.
To view the full college ranking from U.S. News & World Report, click here.