Universities in the Sunshine State fared much better in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Colleges rankings as compared to the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) annual list.
Earlier this month, WSJ released its 2025 Best U.S. Colleges rankings and private and public Florida universities tumbled in the annual list. The University of Florida (UF), which was previously tapped as the best public university, dropped from 15 to 83. The University of Miami fell 141 spots from 70 to 231, and Florida State University tumbled from 102 to 199.
Now, U.S. News has released its version, and Florida universities fared far better.
Florida International University (FIU) jumped 26 spots from 124 to 98. This marks the first time in school history that the university has cracked the top 100 national universities and top 50 public universities. (FIU also tied with the University of California-Riverside as the top school for social mobility.)
To compute its rankings, U.S. News used a variety of weighted factors, including graduation rates, first-year retention rates, graduation-rate performance, peer assessment, and financial resources per student.
UF fell only two spots from 28 to 30, tying with New York University and the University of Texas–Austin. The University of Miami moved up four spots, from 67 to 63. UM tied with Tulane, Penn State, Michigan State, George Washington, and Brandeis.
Florida State dropped one spot from 53 to 54, sharing the ranking with Northeastern University, the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, and William & Mary.
Other notable risers: Florida A&M University (FAMU), which jumped 18 spots to 152, and Florida Atlantic University, which climbed 20 spots to 189. Among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), FAMU ranked third.
When it comes to the top colleges in the nation, Princeton tops the list, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard following in second and third.
Here is where Florida schools land in the U.S. News 2025 rankings:
30. University of Florida
54. Florida State University
63. University of Miami
91. University of South Florida
98. Florida International University
121. University of Central Florida
152. Florida A&M University
189. Florida Atlantic University
231. Florida Institute of Technology
231. Nova Southeastern University
231. University of North Florida
288. Keiser University
296. Florida Gulf Coast University
377. Palm Beach Atlantic University
392. - 434. Barry University
392. - 434. Saint Leo University
392. - 434. Southeastern University
392. - 434. St. Thomas University
For the first time in the school's history, FIU has cracked the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report's college rankings.
Florida International University photo
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