U.S. News & World Report Ranks 2 LA Colleges Among Nation's Best

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles offers the top ranked public university in the nation and two of the top 20 colleges in the nation, according to the annual l list released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

The magazine ranked Caltech in Pasadena as the 12th best university in the nation and UCLA as 19th overall. Among public universities, UCLA was ranked first.

"It is wonderful to see UCLA recognized for our many academic achievements and the impact of our research," UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. "As a wold-class university dedicated to the public good, we can also take great pride in being acknowledged for the access, opportunity and economic mobility UCLA provides to students from all backgrounds throughout California and the world."

Irvine's UCI was ranked seventh among public colleges nationwide.

Caltech fell two spots to finish in a tie with Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. But the magazine continued to hail the university's graduate programs in engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, mathematics and physics.

Princeton and Harvard again topped the magazine's rankings of national universities, followed by a four-way tie among Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago and Yale University. Stanford ranked seventh on the list, while UCLA tied with Washington University in St. Louis. USC ranked 22nd.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock