GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida appeared to stabilize its perch among the nation’s top universities in the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, released Tuesday, even as the campus has weathered one the most politically turbulent years in its recent memory.
UF was ranked No. 7 among public universities – the same position it held last year – and No. 30 overall when private institutions are included. Four years ago, the university achieved its coveted “Top 5” status before slipping for two consecutive years beginning in 2023.
Other Florida institutions generally fared better in this year’s rankings:
- Florida State University climbed two spots to No. 21 among public institutions and three spots to No. 51 overall.
- University of South Florida rose in both categories, to No. 43 among public universities and No. 88 overall.
- Florida International University held steady at No. 46 among publics and inched up to No. 97 overall. The Miami school saw a banner year last year, when it cracked the Top 100 in overall rankings.
- University of Central Florida in Orlando jumped four spots in both categories, to No. 57 among publics and No. 117 overall.
- Florida A&M University dropped from No. 3 to No. 5 among historically Black colleges and universities and slid to No. 92 among all publics, and to No. 169 overall. FAMU is still the top-ranked public HBCU in the nation.
- Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton gained six slots to No. 183 overall and No. 100 among publics.
- New College of Florida tumbled 13 places to No. 135 among public and private liberal arts colleges and three places to No. 10 among public liberal arts colleges.
- University of West Florida surged nine slots to No. 9 among southern regionals and improved from No. 10 to No. 6 among public southern regionals.
For UF administrators, this year’s steady showing offered a rare dose of stability after a bruising stretch of leadership upheaval and intensifying scrutiny.
The state’s flagship university drew national headlines this summer after the failed appointment of Santa Ono as its 14th president. Though UF trustees unanimously supported the former University of Michigan leader, Ono faced fierce opposition from Republican politicians over his past support for diversity initiatives. The State University System’s Board of Governors voted 10-6 to block his hiring – the first such action in the board’s 22-year history.
Ono’s botched appointment followed the short and rocky tenure of Ono’s would-be predecessor, Ben Sasse, a former U.S. senator who resigned as UF president last July after less than two years on the job. State auditors sharply criticized Sasse’s skyrocketing expenditures. UF’s national ranking slipped under his watch.
When he was still president, Sasse said he wanted to de-emphasize rankings because each ranking organization's methodology can change suddenly, affecting a school's arbitrary score. The dispute over the importance of rankings between Sasse and the chair of its governing Board of Trustees, Mori Hosseini, contributed to tensions between the two.
UF tapped Donald Landry, former chair of Columbia University’s Department of Medicine, to serve as interim president. The Board of Governors approved him unanimously earlier this month.
“UF’s standing reflects a decade of concerted effort, supported by historic state investment and federal research funding, leading to stronger student outcomes, inspired research accomplishments and ever-greater impact on the economy of Florida,” Landry said in a statement. “Our future is one of thriving students, groundbreaking research and signal service to our state, because fortune favors the bold.”
U.S. News did not explain why UF’s ranking held steady, but one of the most heavily weighted factors – more than graduation rates, graduate earnings or class sizes – is peer reputation. UF's peer assessment score this year remained unchanged at 3.7 out of 5 – the lowest among all Top 10 public universities on the magazine's rankings.
That measure has been a vulnerability for UF as it becomes a national flashpoint for GOP-driven policies under Gov. Ron DeSantis. In recent years, lawmakers have dismantled diversity programs, restricted how race can be taught, weakened tenure protections for professors and mandated surveys of students and faculty about their political views.
At the same time, DeSantis and the Legislature have funneled vast resources into the university, helping it hire more professors, reduce class sizes, raise salaries and expand student aid – all factors that bolster rankings.
UF continues to shine in several of U.S. News’ key metrics. The university recently announced record annual research spending – even as the Trump administration pushes deep cuts to federal grants – and welcomed more than 8,000 new undergraduates this fall, another all-time high.
Rankings remain central to UF’s identity. State law rewards public universities for improving in many U.S. News’ criteria, and Hosseini, the board chair, has vowed to pursue a “laserfocused” campaign to elevate UF further.
“UF’s ranking among the very best public universities in the country reflects the dedication of our faculty, staff and students and the strong support we receive from the state of Florida, for which we are grateful,” Hosseini said. “Once again, this is proof positive that the University of Florida’s future is as bright as it ever was. We refuse to slow down.”
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at garrettshanley@ufl.edu. You can donate to support our students here.