UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State rose to No. 26 among national public universities and No. 59 overall — increasing four places in both categories — in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 “Best Colleges” ranking, released Sept. 23. Penn State also ranks No. 21 among Association of American Universities public institutions and is once again the top-ranked public university in Pennsylvania.
U.S. News defines the category of “National Universities” as schools that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research. In total, 434 institutions made the list.
“Penn State’s recognition in national rankings such as U.S. News speaks to the exceptional quality of our faculty and students and the strength of our academic programs,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Penn State executive vice president and provost. “Guided by our commitment to academic and research excellence and student success, we are focused as an institution on building on this momentum and advancing Penn State’s reputation as a premier public research university.”
Undergraduate program-specific rankings released by U.S. News for Penn State remain strong, including 14 top-25 ratings, with three in the top 10, for select programs in engineering and business, among others. According to U.S. News’ methodology, these rankings are based solely on the judgments of the academic leadership and senior faculty in such programs who participated in a peer assessment survey.
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Penn State ranked No. 21 out of 211 schools in "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs," at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate. The University also ranked well in a number of engineering specialties, including petroleum (4); biological/agricultural (7); materials (12); industrial/manufacturing (12); aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical (13); civil (13); mechanical (16); environmental/environmental health (20); computer (23); and electrical/electronic/communications (24).
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Penn State ranked No. 24 out of 533 programs in “Best Undergraduate Business Programs.” The University also ranked well in several business specialty programs, including supply chain management/logistics (8) and production/operations management (13).
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Penn State’s rankings also include No. 33 out of 682 institutions for “Best Undergraduate Psychology Programs,” No. 39 out of 601 institutions for “Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs,” No. 40 out of 686 institutions for "Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs,” and No. 44 out of 254 institutions for “Best Undergraduate Economics Programs.”
Additionally, Penn State ranked No. 34 out of 174 national universities in “Best Colleges for Veterans,” a rating that includes top-ranked schools that make pursuing a college education more affordable for veterans and active-duty service members. Penn State has a large network of students, staff and faculty who have military ties as either service members, veterans or military dependents across 24 campuses and the World Campus. The Office of Veterans Affairs and Services supports military-connected students by enabling their access to all aspects of higher education and empowering them to succeed while at Penn State and as they transition to post-education endeavors. The University’s World Campus also scored well last fall in the 2025 U.S. News “Best Online Programs for Veterans.”
This continues a string of strong placements for Penn State in national and international rankings. Over the past year, Penn State has ranked No. 57 globally and No. 31 nationally in the Center for World University Rankings for 2025; No. 82 in the world and No. 24 in the U.S. in the 2026 QS World University Rankings; and No. 100 in the world and No. 38 among U.S. universities in the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
To learn more, visit Penn State’s Facts & Rankings page.
Visit the U.S. News website for more about the 2026 "Best Colleges" Rankings.