UF and USF fall in US News university rankings; other Florida universities gain

The state of Florida has been ranked No. 1 for higher education by U.S. News & World Report for eight years in a row. But this year’s Best Colleges rankings, Numbers released early Tuesday showed declines at some of the state’s top schools.

The University of Florida slipped from sixth to seventh place among public universities after being in the top five for two years in a row. The flagship university also fell two places to 30th among all public and private universities in the USA.

The University of South Florida and Florida State University maintained their positions among public universities, ranking 45th and 23rd, respectively. Overall, however, USF dropped two places to 91st and FSU dropped one place to 54th.

Other colleges improved. Florida International University made the top 50, ranking 46th among public universities. Among all universities, it rose 26 spots to 98th. The university also tied with the University of California, Riverside for the top spot in the country in social mobility, measured by the graduation rate of low-income students who receive federal Pell Grants. USF ranked 22nd nationally in that measure.

The University of Central Florida rose five places to 61st among public universities and three places overall to 121st.

The state university system said in a statement that it continues to deliver outstanding performance, noting progress at FIU, Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic University.

“The impressive rankings our 12 universities achieved this year confirm Florida’s status as a leading state for higher education,” said Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the state university system. “The Florida State University System remains committed to maintaining academic excellence and providing a high-quality education. Recognition from U.S. News & World Report underscores the successful results of our efforts.”

Among Florida schools, UCF is ranked as the most innovative and USF as the best value.

“The University of South Florida’s continued success as a top 50 public university underscores the strong return on investment that a degree from our institution provides our students and the impact we have on the Tampa Bay region, our state and beyond,” USF President Rhea Law said in a statement. “This recognition is a testament to the dedication and collective efforts of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, partners and all who support our university.”

Among American liberal arts colleges, New College of Florida dropped 22 spots after falling 24 spots last year. This year, the school is ranked 122nd.

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Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland retained its spot as the best public regional college in the South for the third year in a row and remained No. 2 overall among regional colleges in the South. Private Flagler College ranked No. 3 in the same category and private Rollins College ranked No. 2 among regional universities in the South.

For the sixth year in a row, Florida A&M University maintained its first place ranking among public historically black colleges. Among all colleges and universities, it rose 18 spots to 81st. FAU rose 9 spots to 103rd.

The release of the 2025 Best Colleges rankings follows years of speculation about the impact the state’s critical review of higher education would have on its reputation across the country.

A press release from U.S. News and World said more schools had no change in rankings than last year, when the methodology for rankings was changed. This year’s methodology consisted of 17 factors, including graduation rates, student debt, faculty salaries and research productivity, and graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients. It also includes peer evaluation, or “how a school is viewed by top administrators at other institutions.”

This year, the organization removed the six-year graduation rate as a factor and gave more weight to the graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients. It also removed freshman graduation rate data from its rankings of historically black universities and its social mobility rankings.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed Florida State University’s ranking. The article has been updated.

Divya Kumar covers higher education for the Tampa Bay Times in partnership with Open Campus.