UC Santa Cruz Ranked Top School For 'Social Mobility': Report

SANTA CRUZ, CA — UC Santa Cruz debuted as the second best university in the country for social mobility, according to the 2020 U.S. News and World Report rankings.

The first-ever social mobility list measures how well universities graduated students who received federal Pell Grants, which are typically awarded to students who come from households that earn less than $50,000 annually.

The ethnic diversity of UC Santa Cruz was also highlighted in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. The report’s diversity index for UC Santa Cruz was .72—with values closer to 1.0 meaning a student is more likely to run into students from a different ethnic group.

Only 10 universities across the United States had a higher index than UC Santa Cruz.

In fall 2018, 28 percent of the UC Santa Cruz undergraduate class was Asian, 26 percent was Hispanic/Latino, 4 percent was African American, and .8 percent was American Indian.

UC Santa Cruz also ranked among the top public schools (No. 34) and the top national universities (No. 84). The US News and World Report looks at a variety of factors in its rankings, including retention and graduation rates, social mobility, faculty resources, and more.

Other U.S. News and World Report rankings for UC Santa Cruz include:

• No. 40—Best Undergraduate Teaching, National Universities
• No. 52—Best Colleges for Veterans, National Universities
• No. 63—Most Innovative Schools
• No. 84—Best National Universities
• No. 93—Undergraduate Engineering Programs Overall (Doctorate)
• No. 175—Best Value Schools