Best Colleges In Alabama: New U.S. News Rankings

WASHINGTON, DC — Auburn University is Alabama’s highest-ranked national university on U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 best colleges list. A total of six Alabama colleges were featured on the national list with Auburn coming in at no. 104.

The 2020 rankings include the overall best national universities rankings, as well as rankings for the best liberal-arts colleges, the top public schools, the best value schools and more.

Along with being featured on the national list, Alabama colleges also placed on other lists, including the National Liberal Arts Colleges list and the Regional Colleges list.

For the 2020 rankings, U.S. News made some changes to help prospective students with their college search. A new set of rankings looks at the top performers in social mobility, evaluating which schools best serve underrepresented students. The 2020 methodology also factors in which schools support first-generation college students through graduation.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham was the only Alabama school featured on the social mobility rankings.

A total of 1,400 colleges are included in the 2020 rankings.The publication says that 90 percent of those reading the best-colleges list are looking for schools outside the top 10. (You can read the full methodology here)

“For more than three decades, we’ve collected and analyzed data on thousands of colleges and
universities across the country and helped put schools on the map,” Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, said in a news release. “We’ve found the best institutions to be ones committed to academically and financially supporting their students through graduation. They draw in high-quality professors and set students up for postgraduate success.”

Here are the Alabama schools that made the national university rankings:

• Auburn University
• Samford University
• University of Alabama
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of Alabama at Huntsville
• University of South Alabama

Here are the Alabama schools that made the liberal arts colleges rankings:

• Birmingham-Southern College
• Judson College
• Spring Hill College
• Stillman College
• Talladega College

Overall, Princeton University once again stayed in the No.1 spot. Williams College was the top liberal-arts college and the University of California-Los Angeles was the No.1 public school.

Below are the top 5 national universities:

1. Princeton University (NJ)
2. Harvard University (MA)
3. Columbia University (NY) (tie)
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (tie)
3. Yale University (CT) (tie)

Below are the top 3 liberal arts colleges:

1. Williams College (MA)
2. Amherst College (MA)
3. Swarthmore College (PA) (tie)
3. Wellesley College (MA) (tie)

Below are the top 3 public universities:

1. University of California—Los Angeles
2. University of California—Berkeley
3. University of Michigan—Ann Arbor