St. John’s University continues to rise in the U.S. News & World Report education rankings of the nation’s top universities.

In the just-released Best Colleges 2025 guidebook by U.S. News & World Report, St. John’s University advanced to #152 on the list of national universities, up from last year’s ranking of #163. This reflects the highest ranking for St. John’s since the 2019 edition published in Fall, 2018.

“With talented faculty scholars and researchers committed to providing students with an engaging and elevating learning experience, the reach of the academic experience at St. John’s is limitless,” stated Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2025 edition used 17 key measures of academic quality for national universities, including retention and graduation rates; student-to-faculty ratios; earnings and debt; and standardized tests. Besides institution type and geographical location, U.S. News editors ranked colleges in other groupings, such as Best Value Schools, Top Public Schools, and Best Colleges for Veterans.

St. John’s is cited as a “Top Performer on Social Mobility,” ranked #35 (up from #42) among national universities—and is exceeded by only one other private institution in New York and one other Catholic institution in the United States in this measure.

The University’s insurance programs were ranked ninth among national programs on the “Best Undergraduate Insurance Programs” list, and are the highest-ranked St. John’s programs cited. The undergraduate business program rankings were based solely on peer assessment surveys. 

The University also garners accolades for “Best Value Schools” (ranked #183, up from #191); “Best Colleges for Veterans” (ranked #106, up from #113); and “Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs” (ranked #229, up from #264).

U.S. News ranked nearly 1,500 US four-year, bachelor’s degree-granting institutions, grouped within 10 distinct overall rankings. The colleges and universities were compared with schools that share their academic mission.

This year, the publication slightly shifted its methodology by removing the graduation rate of first-generation students from the formula. Last year, U.S. News editors incorporated outcomes tied to first-generation students, but decided to stop considering the metric this year because the data examined was not consistent enough across institutions.

According to U.S. News & World Report, most schools surveyed continued to report data: 78.1 percent of the nearly 1,500 ranked institutions returned their statistical information in the spring and summer of 2024, compared to about 79.9 percent last year. This includes 99 of the top 100 ranked national universities and 96 of the top 100 national liberal arts colleges.