CU campuses retain lofty spots on annual lists

The campuses of the University of Colorado and their undergraduate programs continue their long-standing records of excellence as tracked by the U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges, the 2016 edition of which was released late Tuesday.

The University of Colorado Boulder is No. 37 among top Public National Universities. CU-Boulder is 89th among all public, private and for-profit universities in the country.

The University of Colorado Denver is No. 116 among top Public National Universities and No. 199 among all public, private and for-profit universities.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is No. 10 on the list of Top Public Regional Universities of the West, and 46th overall among Regional Universities of the West.

Here are more Best Colleges highlights from U.S. News & World Report:

• CU-Boulder’s undergraduate engineering program comes in at 21st among public institutions whose highest degree is a doctorate, 36th overall. Within engineering, recognition went to aerospace (No. 6 among public institutions, No. 10 overall); chemical (No. 13 among public institutions; No. 20 overall); civil (No. 11 among public institutions, No. 17 overall); and environmental/environmental health (No. 7 among public institutions, No. 13 overall).

• UCCS’ undergraduate engineering program is No. 8 among public engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s, including military service academies. Among public, private and for-profit universities combined, the undergraduate engineering program ranks 22nd.

• CU-Boulder’s undergraduate business program at the Leeds School of Business lands at 22nd among public universities, 34th overall.

• CU Denver’s undergraduate business program is 58th among public universities and 93rd overall among all national universities.

• The undergraduate program in the UCCS College of Business is No. 82 among public universities and No. 131 overall among national universities.

• The list of Best Colleges for Veterans places CU-Boulder at No. 28 among public national universities in the category; No. 72 overall. UCCS is at No. 5 among Public Regional Universities of the West, and No. 35 among all Regional Universities of the West. These are the top schools participating in federal initiatives helping veterans and active service members apply, pay for and complete their degrees.

U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on its measures of academic peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. “National Universities” are the 280 institutions – 173 public, 100 private and seven for-profit institutions – that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees; some emphasize research.

The rankings are posted at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges.

The 2016 edition Best Colleges book is available for purchase online.

U.S. News’ annual rankings for graduate programs are issued in the spring.