CU earns high marks across the nation, region

University of Colorado campuses and undergraduate programs historically earn high marks on U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges lists, and the 2015 edition -- released Monday – again shows national and regional recognition of CU’s sustained excellence.

The University of Colorado Boulder is No. 38 among top Public National Universities. CU-Boulder is 88th among all public, private and for-profit universities in the country. No other university in the state rates higher on the list than CU-Boulder.

The University of Colorado Denver is among the institutions included on the list of second-tier schools, those that immediately follow the list of Best National Universities.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is No. 13 on the list of Top Public Regional Universities of the West, and 51st overall among Regional Universities of the West.

Other Best Colleges highlights from U.S. News & World Report:

• CU-Boulder’s undergraduate engineering program comes in at 20th among public institutions whose highest degree is a doctorate, 36th overall.
• UCCS’ undergraduate engineering program is sixth 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 14th.
• 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 93rd overall among national universities.
• The undergraduate program in the UCCS College of Business is No. 113 overall among national universities.
• The list of Best Colleges for Veterans has UCCS at No. 17 among 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.
• CU-Boulder is listed among A-Plus Schools for B Students, a guide to the highest quality institutions affording opportunity to B students.

The rankings released in advance by U.S. News & World Report are incomplete; more CU schools and programs were among the full lists released on Tuesday.

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 2015 edition Best Colleges book is available for purchase online.

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