See Which Rhode Island Colleges Ranked Among U.S. News' 2022-23 Best

RHODE ISLAND — Two Rhode Island colleges and universities made the list of 200 colleges nationwide included in the 2022-2023 Best Colleges rankings released Monday by U.S. News & World Report.

As usual, marquee universities like Brown and the University of Rhode Island were ranked among the best in the country, although New Jersey's Princeton University was ranked No. 1 in 2022-23.

U.S. News has been publishing the respected guide for prospective students and families for nearly 40 years. Methodology has changed over the years to reflect changes in higher education, Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News, said in a news release.

U.S. News touts its ranking for providing millions of parents with “useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions,” Castro said.

U.S. News ranked 1,500 colleges and universities across 17 academic measures. To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location.

National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges.

Massachusetts schools that made the top 200 ranking across the national universities and public universities include:

National Universities

• Brown University, No. 13
• University of Rhode Island, No. 182

Regional Universities Northeast

• Providence College, No. 1
• Rhode Island School of Design, No. 3
• Bryant University, No. 7
• Roger Williams University, No. 28
• Salve Regina University, No. 28
• Johnson & Wales University, No. 70
• Rhode Island College, No. 101

Notably, Johnson & Wales saw a big spike in its rankings, moving up 24 spots from the prior year.

"Today, as U.S. News & World Report releases its Best Colleges rankings, I am pleased to see the hard work of our faculty and staff over the last year being recognized nationwide," Chancellor Mim Runey said. "We know the investments we have made in our students and our increase of high-touch student experiences on both the Providence and Charlotte campuses have contributed to our rise in the ranking."

You can view all the Rhode Island college and university rankings here.

To compile the rankings, U.S. News focuses on academic quality and places emphasis on outcome measures, including graduation rates, retention rates, graduate indebtedness and social mobility. Graduation rates and other outcomes represent 40 percent of each school’s overall score.

U.S. News said it changed how it weights SAT and ACT scores because demand for the college entrance exams plummeted due to the pandemic, especially among students living in low-income households.

Part-time faculty members were considered in measures on faculty resources, reflecting a trend for more part-time instructors, U.S. News said. Previously, only full-time instructors were considered.

Read more about the methodology.