18 Sep UW–Madison ranks 35th in 2024 U.S. News ‘Best Colleges’ rankings
UW-Madison is ranked 35th in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Colleges. Photo: Jeff Miller
The University of Wisconsin–Madison was ranked 35th out of 437 public and private doctoral institutions, and 12th among public universities, in the 2024 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s best colleges rankings.
It is UW–Madison’s highest overall U.S. News ranking in the past 15 years, and the fifth year in a row that the university has moved up — advancing 14 places since ranking 49th in 2019.
“We are happy to be consistently rated among the best universities in the country, but as the U.S. News editors themselves will tell you, rankings are only one thing to consider in choosing a college. Each student is unique, and there are many tangible and intangible factors that determine which school is the best fit,” says UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin.
U.S. News made major changes in its methodology for the rankings published today, and UW–Madison’s overall position was up three places from 38th on the 2022–2023 rankings.
For 2024, a number of criteria (including alumni giving and class size metrics) were removed as measures of academic quality, in favor of a greater emphasis on student-focused factors, such as student outcomes as represented by graduation rates.