U.S. News & World Report names the University of Florida the nation’s fifth best public university 

The University of Florida has already accomplished big things for 2022, though it has not even started yet. U.S. News & World Report ranked UF fifth on its list of the 2022 Top Public Colleges & Universities — its highest ranking to date from the nationally recognized education review site. 

The authoritative ranking site released the 2022 report Sept. 13. The top colleges on the ranking are the No. 1 University of California — Los Angeles, No. 2 University of California — Berkeley, No. 3 University of Michigan — Ann Arbor and the No. 4 University of Virginia, with UF following at No. 5. 

UF’s new accolade is a testament to its standard of academic excellence. U.S. News & World report evaluates nearly 1,500 public institutions nationwide using 17 different types of criteria to measure academic quality. Factors such as graduation and retention rates, peer assessments, class sizes, financial resources for students and graduation rate performance carry the most weight in determining the top schools. 

The top five spot comes to UF after years of steady climbing up U.S. News & World Report’s ranking ladder. In the same list of top public colleges and universities across the country, UF was No. 14 from 2015-2017, No. 9 in 2018, No. 8 in 2019 and No. 6 in 2020.  

With the University of Florida frequently landing on a wide variety of other “best of” lists each year, this latest recognition further solidifies the Gator Nation’s place among the best of the best — around the country and around the world. 

Written by Jewell Tomazin