KU moves up two spots among public universities in 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas improved two spots to 58th among public universities in the 2022 edition of the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings, released today.

The university also moved up two slots to 122nd among all universities in the rankings.

“We recognize the importance of these rankings, particularly among prospective students and families,” Chancellor Douglas A. Girod said. “At the same time, we remain focused on a broader set of metrics to measure our success. We continue to refine these metrics through our Jayhawks Rising strategic planning process.”

In recent years, KU has undertaken efforts to improve freshman retention rates and six-year graduation rates, which are among the many metrics tracked by the magazine for its rankings. Both areas have seen improvement in recent years.

Other items of note from this year’s ranking include the following:

• The School of Business is ranked 41st among publics, up one spot from last year.
• The School of Engineering is ranked 51st among publics, up three spots from last year.
• KU is ranked in two additional subjects this year compared to last year. U.S. News has published undergraduate nursing rankings for the first time, and KU debuted at 22nd among publics. Additionally, KU’s accounting program ranks 27th among publics after being unranked last year.
• KU is ranked 24th among publics in the Best Value Schools rankings.
• KU made the rankings for Most Innovative Schools (30th among publics) and Best Colleges for Veterans (56th among publics).
• KU is listed as an A+ School for B Students.

Please note, the “Best Colleges” rankings are published each fall and are different from the graduate school rankings, which are published each spring. In the most recent edition of the graduate school rankings, KU has nine graduate programs in the top 10 and 50 programs ranked in the top 50 among public universities.