President Meehan praises "national expression of acclaim"
BOSTON - For the first time ever, all four of the UMass undergraduate campuses are rated in the top category in U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges rankings - making UMass one of the few university systems in the nation to have each campus so acclaimed.
"Our goal has been to build a system of excellence for the citizens of the Commonwealth, and these new rankings demonstrate just how successful we have been," President Marty Meehan said.
"This is an expression of national acclaim for a university that is focused on building a brighter future for the Commonwealth and its citizens," President Meehan added.
The university's flagship campus in Amherst continued its sharp rise in the Best Colleges rankings, climbing to 27th among public universities in the nation and 74th overall.
UMass Lowell, which has been lauded in recent years for its rapid rise in the rankings, continued its ascent, moving to 78th among public universities nationally and 152nd overall.
UMass Boston and UMass Dartmouth were tied for 220thplace in the National Universities category. UMass Dartmouth was previously rated as a Regional University and UMass Boston previously was in the unranked tier among National Universities.
There are more than 3,000 degree-granting, four-year colleges and universities in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Roughly 1 in 10, or 310 institutions, made it to the National Universities listing this year.
The UMass campuses are the only Massachusetts public institutions included on the list. Additionally, very few universities systems across the nation where campuses are judged independently place all of their campuses in U.S. News' top category.
"In this era of unprecedented growth and success for UMass, we have become one of a select number of university systems to have each of our campuses rated at this elite level," President Meehan said.
According to U.S. News & World Report, national universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs, as well as master's and doctoral programs, and "are committed to producing groundbreaking research."
"These national rankings confirm what we already know locally, that UMass strives for and achieves excellence at each campus," said UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Victor Woolridge. "From Amherst to Boston and from Lowell to Dartmouth, we have much to be proud of and much to celebrate. With all four undergraduate campuses in the top tier of universities, students looking for quality and affordability have great choices when they look to UMass."
The four UMass campuses were also included on the list of the "Best Undergraduate Business Programs," with UMass Amherst ranked No. 48, UMass Boston and UMass Dartmouth tied at 150, and UMass Lowell listed at No. 184.
Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranks UMass Medical School 16th in the nation for Primary Care education and 52nd for 性闻联播.
The 2017 National Universities rankings can be found at .
Contact: Colin Murphy, 617-287-4079; Jan Brogan, 781-467-9900