See How The University Of South Florida Ranks Nationally

TAMPA, FL — High school seniors searching for a top-ranked college or university to attend need look no further than their own back yard.

On Monday, U.S. News & World Report released its 2023 Best Colleges rankings, and this year 71 colleges and universities in Florida made the list.

Among the schools ranking high nationally was the University of South Florida, ranked No. 97 among 443 national universities for its performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

The national universities category are institutions of higher learning that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees with an emphasis on faculty research or professional practice doctorates.

Now in its 38th year, the latest edition of U.S News & World Report's 2023 Best Colleges was compiled after more than 1,500 U.S. bachelor's degree-granting institutions were assessed on 17 measures of academic quality.

This year's rankings also considered graduation and retention rates; graduate indebtedness; social mobility; faculty resources, which takes into account class size and faculty salary; peer assessment by other universities; financial resources; student excellence, which includes performance on standardized tests and high school class standing; and alumni giving.

In additional to its national universities ranking, USF ranked:

• 97 in National Universities (tie)
• 61 in Best Colleges for Veterans (tie)
• 82 in Best Value Schools
• 38 in Top Performers on Social Mobility (tie)
• 42 in Top Public Schools (tie)
• 104 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (tie) at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate

The social mobility category measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants (those typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000).

Other Florida colleges and universities making the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings include:

National Universities Category

• University of Florida, Gainesville, ranked 29.
• Florida State University, Tallahassee, ranked 55.
• University of Miami, Coral Gables, ranked 55.
• University of South Florida, Tampa, ranked 97.
• University of Central Florida, Orlando, ranked 137.
• Southeastern University, Lakeland, ranked 331.
• Saint Leo University, St. Leo, ranked 331.

Regional Universities Category

• Rollins College, Winter Park, ranked 1.
• Florida Polytechnic University, Lakeland, ranked 3.
• Florida Southern College, Lakeland, ranked 8.
• University of Tampa, Tampa, ranked 21.
• Florida College, Temple Terrace, ranked 68.
• Warner University, Lake Wales, ranked 103.

National Liberal Arts Colleges Category

• New College of Florida, Sarasota, ranked 76.
• Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, ranked 130.

Read more about schools are ranked.