Best U.S. News Ranking in UMD History

Dear Campus Community, 

When Terps work together toward excellence, extraordinary things happen. Today, we are thrilled to announce that the University of Maryland has once again been named one of the top 20 public universities in the nation, climbing to No. 16 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings. We have also achieved our highest-ever overall ranking at No. 42, a remarkable rise of 22 spots since 2020. 

The university now has a combined 69 top-25 rankings for its schools, colleges, programs and specialties, with business, engineering and computer science all ranking in the top 25 nationally.

Rankings are but one measure of our university’s success, but offer important insight into our commitment to supporting our people, strengthening our academic foundation and making investments that drive impact in our communities and around the world. 

And, our upward momentum has been building. 

Points of pride

Our progress this year reflects our advancement across some of the most important measures of excellence in higher education, and our investments in areas that directly support our mission of education, research and service. 

We have been recognized for prioritizing financial resources for programs that support learning, engagement and opportunity, and strengthen the overall experience at UMD for every student to succeed. And, we continue to shine in our investments in our faculty, highlighting our unwavering commitment to attracting and retaining exceptional educators and scholars while providing the resources they need to achieve excellence. 

In just one year, we jumped 20 places in graduation rate performance, demonstrating that our students are exceeding expectations and leaving College Park poised to succeed among our nation’s top graduates. 

Additionally, our recognition as one of the top 25 best universities for veterans, along with our No. 11 national ranking for learning communities, demonstrates our commitment to creating a supportive environment where all Terrapins can thrive.

Read more about all of our U.S. News’ Best Colleges rankings in Maryland Today.

Leading across all measures

The University of Maryland continues to be recognized across disciplines and by leading organizations. We should all be proud to be part of a university that is celebrated for our academic excellence, bold research enterprise and unwavering commitment to student success. Beyond these latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report, we continue to earn recognition across numerous areas:

• No. 10 among public institutions in Forbes' 2025-26 rankings of America's Top Colleges
• No. 11 among public institutions in research spending among all U.S. institutions in the National Science Foundation’s latest Higher Education Research and Development survey
• No. 13 among public universities for Pell Grant recipients' graduation rates in the 2025-26 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education's Almanac
• No. 7 in the nation at promoting student entrepreneurship, according to 2025 rankings by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine
• No. 1 producer of computer science and information science bachelor’s degrees among non-online universities in The Chronicle of Higher Education's 2024 Almanac, and No. 3 in the nation overall
• Top 5 American producer of doctorates in several technology areas that are key to national security and science-driven innovation, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research
• No. 11 among U.S. public institutions—our highest ranking to date—and No. 29 overall in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's list of 2025-26 Best Global Universities
• Top 2% of more than 2,500 universities around the globe in the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities released by ShanghaiRanking

These rankings are a reflection of the impact we can deliver when Terps join together to move Fearlessly Forward. Let us all celebrate this collective achievement, together.

Sincerely,