The University of Wisconsin was ranked 42nd overall and 14th among public colleges in the U.S. News and World Reports 2022 rankings, according to a UW press release.
According to U.S. News, UW was tied for 13th last year among public institutions. This year, following an academic year riddled with online learning and COVID-related obstacles, the university slightly dipped to 14th in the public institutions’ rankings.
UW did not budge in the over all rankings, remaining in a fifth-way tie for 42nd among all U.S. universities. The U.S. News rankings include over 389 other colleges and universities.
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U.S. News ranked the UW undergraduate engineering program 15th overall, a drop from 13th last year.
In addition to the boosted engineering ranking, UW was ranked seventh among public institutions in peer reputation, 20th for best colleges for veterans and ninth among business programs, according to the press release.
UW spokesperson Meredith McGlone commented on UW’s successful rankings in an email statement to The Badger Herald.
“We are proud that UW–Madison is once again being recognized for its quality, although rankings are only one of many measures of performance,” McGlone said.
McGlone said the university’s performance varies based on different ranking systems. For example, Washington Monthly ranked UW–Madison first among public institutions in the U.S. in August. The criteria for that ranking system is research excellence, social mobility and community and national service.
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McGlone said the university exceeds in different areas on separate surveys. McGlone said the university performs strongly in different areas UW students succeed in student retention and graduation rates, research performance and the commitment to service of our students and graduates.
“I am proud that UW–Madison is once again being recognized for its quality,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the press release. “Although rankings are only one of many measures of performance, it is good to share this recognition as we begin a new school year.”
This story was updated on Sept. 16 at 3:50 p.m. to reflect an error in the ranking of the engineering program. The story previous stated the program increased from 26th to 15th in the rankings.
