UF ranked No. 1 among US public universities by Wall Street Journal

The University of Florida was rated No. 1 among public universities in the U.S. and No. 15 among all schools in a Wall Street Journal ranking released Wednesday.

The accolade follows last year’s announcement that UF maintained its position as a Top 5 public university in the annual U.S. News & World report ranking.

The 2024 Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings put Florida International University at No. 4 among public universities and No. 29 overall. Florida State University ranked No. 35 among public universities and No. 102 overall. The University of Miami, a private school, ranked No. 90 overall.

Seventy percent of the ranking formula was based on student outcomes including graduation rates, the time it took to pay off the net price of a degree and salaries after graduation compared to similar schools.

The Journal gave 20% weight to the learning environment, including facilities, career preparation opportunities and student recommendations. Ten percent of the score was based on diversity as well as students’ responses when asked if they had opportunities to interact with people from different backgrounds.

“The University of Florida dared to be audacious, and we’ve succeeded — for our students and for our state,” Mori Hosseini, UF’s board of trustees chairperson, said in a news release. “I’ve always believed that giving our students an amazing education and sending them out into the world with the tools they need to succeed is our No. 1 job. Now we’ve been recognized as being No. 1 for doing that.”

UF president Ben Sasse, who has often called himself “a moderate about rankings,” said in the release that the new Journal ranking was “a huge honor.”

“The University of Florida has done incredible things, and we’re not slowing down,” Sasse said. “We are committed to providing an elite education that is radically practical. ... That goes right to the heart of what a public, land-grant, flagship institution like UF should be doing and what the state of Florida has entrusted us with.”

Divya Kumar covers higher education for the Tampa Bay Times, working in partnership with Open Campus.