For the third year in a row, NC State climbed to new heights in a national ranking of colleges and universities from U.S. News & World Report. The university ranked 58th overall among national universities, rising two spots over last year and 26 spots since 2020. Among public universities, NC State rose two spots to 26th overall — the university’s highest ranking ever.

The Best Colleges list, published annually by U.S. News, ranks nearly 1,500 of the nation’s four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on a set of 17 weighted indicators, using data collected from more than 1,800 institutions. NC State has made major strides up the list over the past several years, jumping 34 spots since 2017 to achieve its current position as the 58th best-ranked university nationally.

“This year’s Best Colleges list demonstrates what we already know: that NC State is among the best of the best,” said Chancellor Randy Woodson. “We continue to be recognized for our excellence in teaching, research and scholarship because of you — our incredible students, faculty and staff — and all you bring to this place each and every day.”

Beyond this strong overall showing among national and public universities, NC State distinguished itself in additional Best Colleges rankings from U.S. News.

NC State continued to be recognized as one of the best universities in the nation for veterans, rising two spots over last year for its highest finish in a decade at 34th overall. It achieved the 60th overall ranking for best value among national universities, and its undergraduate business program earned the 65th overall ranking, gaining five spots from last year. On the list of top performing universities for social mobility, NC State soared 25 spots to rank 153rd overall.

U.S. News significantly altered its Best Colleges methodology last year, removing five indicators that had previously constituted 18% of an institution’s score and adding seven new indicators to reflect outcomes such as faculty research citations and graduation rates for first-generation students.

The most significant change to the methodology for 2025 was the removal of first-generation students’ six-year graduation rates from the formulas for ranking national universities and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This change was made, according to U.S. News, based on stakeholder input that the data should be more standardized for comparative use.

Other notable 2025 Best Colleges rankings for NC State included:

• 22nd overall for undergraduate business analytics
• 30th overall for undergraduate engineering among institutions offering doctoral degrees in engineering
• 50th overall for undergraduate computer science
• 94th overall for undergraduate psychology
• 102nd overall for undergraduate economics

NC State’s continued rise in the 2025 Best Colleges rankings reflects the university’s strong commitments to academic value, educational quality, and student and faculty success.

A Wolfpack on the Rise