Brown ranks No. 13 nationally in U.S. News’ annual Best Colleges report; PC remains top regional university in North

Updated at 12:05 p.m. on Sept. 16.

BROWN UNIVERSITY was ranked No. 13 in the National Universities category in the U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Colleges rankings. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY
BROWN UNIVERSITY was ranked No. 13 in the National Universities category in the U.S. News & World Report's annual Best Colleges rankings. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE – Brown University saw its national ranking as among the best colleges and universities in the U.S. rise up one spot, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges rankings released Monday.

The Ivy League institution was ranked No. 13 in the National Universities in this year’s ranking after four straight years of being at No. 14. Brown is the highest-ranked college in that category out of all the colleges based in Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass. The university is also ranked No. 2 for best undergraduate teaching, rising two spots from a year ago.

National universities were defined as schools that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and Ph.D. programs.

Providence College remained the top regional university in the North for a third consecutive year, per U.S. News’ rankings. PC’s undergraduate teaching rank did drop down from No. 1 last year to a tie for No. 2 with Ithaca College in New York.

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Regional universities were defined as colleges that focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines. Regional universities were ranked among schools in their respective region, rather than nationally. The report has four geographic regions for rankings: North, South, Midwest and West.

PC was one of three Rhode Island-based colleges ranked in the top 10 in the North regional universities category. Rhode Island School of Design was ranked No. 3, while Bryant University in Smithfield was ranked in a tie for No. 7.

Salve Regina University in Newport and Roger Williams University in Bristol were in a tie for No. 28 among regional universities in the North, dropping slightly from last year’s rankings of No. 23 and No. 27, respectively. Johnson & Wales University saw its ranking within the North regional universities category jump from No. 94 last year to a tie for No. 70 this year with two other colleges.

Rhode Island College’s ranking in the North rose year to year to now being tied at No. 101 with seven other colleges.

The University of Rhode Island’s ranking in the National Universities category dropped year to year from No. 162 to a tie for No. 182 with 11 other colleges. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is in a 16-way tie at No. 234 among the top national universities, per the report.

Princeton University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University were respectively ranked the top-three colleges across the nation by U.S. News. The outlet evaluated approximately 1,500 colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality in its 38th year of producing the rankings.

A breakdown of regional colleges and universities and their top rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Survey:

Brown University

(Each of the following rankings are in the National Universities category)

  • 13 – National Universities
  • 2 – Best Undergraduate Teaching
  • 14 – Best Value Schools
  • 23 – Undergraduate Computer Science Programs
  • 25 – Most Innovative Schools
  • 33 (tie) – Undergraduate Engineering Programs (At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
  • 263 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility

Bryant University

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 7 (tie) – Regional Universities North
  • 11 (tie) – Most Innovative Schools
  • 43 – Best Value Schools
  • 164 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 190 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs

Johnson & Wales University

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 70 (tie) – Regional Universities North
  • 46 – Best Value Schools
  • 86 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility

New England Institute of Technology

  • Unranked in Regional Colleges North
  • 528 (tie) – Undergraduate Nursing Programs

Providence College

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 1 – Regional Universities North
  • 2 (tie) – Best Undergraduate Teaching
  • 11 – Best Value Schools
  • 15 – Most Innovative Schools
  • 144 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs
  • 167 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility

Rhode Island College

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 101 (tie) – Regional Universities North
  • 28 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 33 (tie) – Top Public Schools
  • 278 (tie) – Undergraduate Computer Science Programs
  • 293 (tie) – Undergraduate Nursing Programs

Rhode Island School of Design

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 3 – Regional Universities North
  • 3 – Most Innovative Schools
  • 22 – Best Undergraduate Teaching
  • 136 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility

Roger Williams University

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 28 (tie) – Regional Universities North
  • 60 – Best Value Schools
  • 170 – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 283 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs
  • 308-537 (tie) – Undergraduate Computer Science Programs

Salve Regina University

(Each of the following rankings are in the Regional Universities North category)

  • 28 (tie) – Regional Universities North
  • 109 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 172 (tie) – Undergraduate Nursing Programs

Stonehill College

(Each of the following rankings are in the National Liberal Arts Colleges category)

  • 89 (tie) – National Liberal Arts Colleges
  • 80 – Best Value Colleges
  • 91 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 411 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

(Each of the following rankings are in the National Universities category)

  • 234 (tie) – National Universities
  • 69 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility
  • 93 (tie) – Undergraduate Nursing Programs
  • 118 (tie) – Top Public Schools
  • 137 (tie) – Undergraduate Engineering Programs (At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
  • 144 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs
  • 172 (tie) – Undergraduate Computer Science Programs

University of Rhode Island

(Each of the following rankings are in the National Universities category)

  • 182 (tie) – National Universities
  • 67 (tie) – Undergraduate Nursing Programs
  • 91 (tie) – Top Public Schools
  • 108 – Best Value Schools
  • 121 (tie) – Undergraduate Computer Science Programs
  • 137 (tie) – Undergraduate Engineering Programs (At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
  • 144 (tie) – Undergraduate Business Programs
  • 270 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility

Wheaton College

(Each of the following rankings are in the National Liberal Arts Colleges category)

  • 89 (tie) – National Liberal Arts Colleges
  • 64 – Best Value Colleges
  • 81 (tie) – Top Performers on Social Mobility]

(CORRECTION: Providence College has been ranked No. 1 in the Regional Universities North category for three consecutive years. The college was tied for No. 1 in 2020.)

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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