Vanderbilt University maintained its spot in the top 20 of U.S. News & World Report’s national universities rankings, which were released last month.
Four other Tennessee universities also kept their places in the top 250 of the national universities list, which includes 436 schools. Additionally, two Tennessee schools made the top 100 of the best liberal arts colleges rankings, which include 211 schools.
According to U.S. News, it considers schools to be national universities if they offer a full range of undergraduate majors, alongside master’s programs, doctoral programs and professional practice doctorates. It also defines them as universities with an emphasis on faculty research. Liberal arts schools are defined by their heavy focus on undergraduate education, with at least 50% of degrees awarded in the arts and sciences.
Last year’s best colleges: How Vanderbilt University, other Tennessee universities ranked
A note on methodology
Last year, a change in methodology led to significant changes in how some schools ranked on the list. For example, Vanderbilt dropped five places last year, while University of Tennessee at Knoxville rose 10 places. Others saw even sharper changes, with some falling or rising dozens of places.
This year, the changes in methodology were minimal, according to U.S. News. Still, questions continue to swirl over the accuracy of the methodology, along with the relevance of college rankings as a whole. A recent survey of college admissions officers by Kaplan, a global education services company, revealed 75% said college rankings have lost their prestige in recent years. Vanderbilt also commissioned an in-depth review of five college ranking systems, including U.S. News, that concluded college rankings are undoubtedly popular but flawed by methodological issues.
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Vanderbilt ranks among top 20 universities in the US
Here’s a look at where Vanderbilt fell among the top 20 national universities in this year’s rankings. While the list includes 20 schools, several of them tied for the same place and are subsequently organized alphabetically.
- #1: Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)
- #2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- #3: Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- #4: Stanford University (Stanford, California)
- #5: Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut)
- #6: California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California)
- #6: Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)
- #6: Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland)
- #6: Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)
- #10: University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- #11: Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)
- #11: University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
- #13: Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island)
- #13: Columbia University (New York, New York)
- #15: Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire)
- #15: University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
- #17: University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
- #18: Rice University (Houston, Texas)
- #18: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana)
- #18: Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)
Which Tennessee universities ranked in the top 250
Alongside Vanderbilt, four more Tennessee universities cracked the top 250 on the U.S. News best national universities list this year.
Here are those schools and where they ranked:
- #109: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- #209: Union University (Jackson)
- #220: Belmont University (Nashville)
- #244: Lipscomb University (Nashville)
Which Tennessee liberal arts colleges ranked in the top 100
Two Tennessee schools ranked in the top 100 liberal arts colleges in this year’s U.S. News rankings.
- #45: The University of the South (Sewanee)
- #59: Rhodes College (Memphis)
See the full college, university rankings for yourself
U.S. News also offers a wide variety of other rankings, including regional universities and colleges, historically Black colleges and universities and more. Want to dig into the rest of the U.S. News rankings, learn about its methodology and more? Visit usnews.com/best-colleges.