UC San Diego Ranked No. 1 for ‘Public Good’

UC San Diego again leads the nation in doing "public good"—contributing to social mobility, research and service—according to rankings from Washington Monthly.

The La Jolla university is one of six California colleges in the top 10, and bests well-known institutions such as Harvard and Stanford universities.

"It's an honor for UC San Diego to be recognized again for our tradition of service to the community and the nation," UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said. "We are rightfully proud that the spirit of civic engagement and the principle of 'giving back' serve as the foundation of our greatest achievements."

Washington Monthly described its rankings, released Monday, as "our answer to ratings like U.S. News & World Report, which rely on easily manipulated measures of wealth, exclusivity, and prestige to determine college quality. Instead, the Monthly rates schools based on what they are doing for the country."

The rankings were first issued in 2005, and this year include 258 schools in the national universities category headed by UC San Diego. Liberal arts colleges, master's universities and baccalaureate colleges have their own separate rankings.

UC San Diego received the top overall score of 100 in the national universities rankings, which measure:

Social Mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students), Research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and Ph.D.s), and Service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).

The university doesn't top the rankings in any of those individual categories but has the highest overall score, just edging UCLA which has a score of 99. Jackson State University in Mississippi ranked highest in social mobility; Harvard University in research; and Tulane University in Louisiana in service.

The University of San Diego came in at 64, and San Diego State University at 139. UC San Diego was ranked No. 1 in 2010; UC Berkeley had that honor in 2009.

To see the full rankings, see here.

Other California schools in the top 10 for 2011 (and their overall scores):

1. UC San Diego (100)

2. UCLA (99)

3. UC Berkeley (98)

4. Stanford University (93)

5. UC Riverside (85)

8. UC Davis (81)

City News Service contributed to this report.