The 25 best state universities in the US, ranked

• US News & World Report ranks the best universities across the US every year.
• While many of the top schools are private, every state in the union has its own public system.
• We used US News’ ranking to compile a list of the 25 best public schools.

21 (tie). Virginia Tech

19 (tie). University of Georgia

7 (tie). University of Texas at Austin

Many UT programs are world-renowned, but the Moody College of Communication is among its most famous.

6. University of California, San Diego

National ranking: #29

From the northernmost UC school to the southernmost — UC San Diego, established in 1960, is approximately 30 minutes from the California/Mexico border.

The university, which has 35,000 undergraduate students, is known for its strong engineering and biotechnology programs.

4 (tie). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

National ranking: #26 (tie)

UNC-Chapel Hill, located less than 30 miles west of Raleigh, was founded in 1789 and has an undergraduate population of 21,000.

Besides its famed NCAA basketball team, Chapel Hill has a top 10 business school and a top five nursing school.

4 (tie). University of Virginia

National ranking: #26 (tie)

The University of Virginia, or UVA, was founded in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1819. It has about 18,000 undergraduate students.

In addition to its strong undergraduate programs, the UVA School of Law is the No. 4 law school in the nation, according to US US News.

1. University of Michigan
   

National ranking: #20 (tie)

The University of Michigan, known colloquially as “Michigan,” was founded in Ann Arbor in 1817, which is about 40 miles west of Detroit.

Michigan has an undergraduate population of 34,000 students. It’s best known for the Ross School of Business, which ranks No. 13 among full-time MBA programs in the US.

1. University of California, Los Angeles
   

National ranking: #17 (tie)

UCLA, founded in 1919 and located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, is one of the biggest universities in the UC system, with 33,000 undergraduates and a well-regarded medical school, law school, and public health master’s program.

It also has just a 9% acceptance rate, making it a highly sought-after acceptance letter.

1. University of California, Berkeley
   

National ranking: #15 (tie)

UC Berkeley (or simply Cal) was named by US News & World Report as the best public school in the US. Founded in 1868, it is the oldest university in the University of California system.

Its 33,000 undergraduate students call the Bay Area home, and the university has top-five biomedical, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, industrial/manufacturing, materials, and mechanical engineering programs.

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