Emory University is Georgia’s highest ranked school in the latest rankings by U.S News and World Report, which also lists Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia among the top 100 institutions in the nation.
The 2016 rankings, released Wednesday, include data on almost 1,800 colleges and rankings of 1,376 schools, scoring them on up to 16 academic measures including graduation and retention rates.
Emory retained its 21st-place ranking among the nation’s top universities, tied with Georgetown University. Georgia Tech ranked 36th and UGA shared a 61st place ranking with four schools including Clemson and Syracuse universities. All three Georgia institutions had freshman retention rates of at least 94 percent and graduation rates last year of at least 82 percent.
“Emory has received wide recognition as an international leader in global research, discovery and innovation,” said Claire Sterk, Emory’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “We consistently rank high in a variety of national surveys that convey aspects of our identity, from the strength of our academic programs to the quality of faculty teaching and research, to the value of an Emory undergraduate experience for students.”
Among the top 30 public universities, Georgia Tech again ranked 7th, and UGA was 21st, tied again with Clemson and Purdue University-West Lafayette.
“The University of Georgia consistently ranks among the nation’s best public research universities,” said President Jere Morehead, “and I am excited about the future of our institution as we implement a number of transformative initiatives, including an experiential learning requirement, to further enhance the world-class education we provide.”
Georgia schools also ranked high in other categories. Spelman again ranked first among national historically black colleges and universities. Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University each fell one position but remained in the top 20 HBCUs with fourth- and 19th-place rankings, respectively. Mercer was again the eighth-best regional university for the Southern region, and the second-best value school for the same region. Covenant College in Lookout Mountain fell three spots to ninth among best regional colleges, while LaGrange College improved a position to 12th.
Georgia State University ranked fifth among national universities in a new U.S. News ranking this year of most innovative schools. The ranking comes after Georgia State's president Mark Becker was named one of the countries most innovative college leaders last month by the Washington Monthly magazine. Spelman ranked 10th among national liberal arts colleges in the same category.
The full rankings are available at www.usnews.com/bestcolleges
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