No Matter Which Ranking You Choose, USM Schools Are Among Nation's Best
Baltimore, Md. (Sept. 16, 2019) – Students and families considering their college choices need look no further than the high-quality institutions of the University System of Maryland (USM). Last week’s release of national rankings of colleges and universities by U.S. News & World Report is only the most recent in an impressive stretch of national and international recognitions for USM campuses.“Our 12 universities offer students and families—especially those in Maryland—the opportunity to earn a highly respected degree, from a nationally ranked institution, at an extremely affordable price,” said USM Chancellor Robert L. Caret. “We take special pride that publications such as U.S. News, Kiplinger’s, and Washington Monthly are taking into account not only the value the USM brings to our students, but also to the economy and quality of life in the state of Maryland.”
The U.S. News & World Report 2020 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” names several USM institutions for academic excellence.
U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) No. 24 overall among public universities and colleges in the United States, and No. 64 among institutions—public and private—nationally. UMCP also is ranked No. 17 on the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education list of the nation’s best colleges.
UMCP was also named a best value college in Kiplinger’s 2019 “Best College Value” ranking and Money magazine’s 2019 “Best Colleges for Your Money” ranking. Money listed UMCP as the No. 1 value for public colleges in the state, No. 28 for public colleges nationwide and in the top 50 (No. 43) overall among 744 schools in the nation. Kiplinger’s lists UMCP as the No. 10 value for in-state students, the No. 16 value for out-of-state students seeking an education at a public university, and No. 101 overall. Internationally, the Times Higher Education “World University Rankings” named UMCP No. 91 and U.S. News & World Report “Best Global University” ranked UMCP No. 51 in its most recent list (Oct. 2018).
U.S. News & World Report placed Towson University (TU) 98th among public national universities. TU also ranked in the top 100 among universities in diversity and tied Harvard University in social mobility. This is the first year that Towson University has been classified in the national rankings. Previously, TU has been ranked regionally in the northeast, but this year was moved into the national rankings due to a change in its Carnegie Classification. (U.S. News defines a national university as offering "a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates.")
Towson University was also ranked No. 107 in the nation in this year’s Money Magazine “Best Colleges for Your Money”—up 40 spots from the previous year. Meanwhile, Forbes magazine ranked Towson the No. 29 public university in its latest rankings, and listed TU in the top 6 percent of all public universities in the country. TU climbed three spots in its ranking, to No. 127 on the publication’s list of top universities in the Northeast Region. The “Top Colleges” list is Forbes' annual ranking of the top 650 public and private U.S. colleges. The publication scores colleges based on five categories, including student satisfaction, alumni salary, debt, on-time graduation rate and academic success.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is once again a leader in the U.S. News & World Report rankings on two closely watched lists, ranked the No. 9 most innovative university and No. 12 top university for undergraduate teaching in the nation. The university appears on these innovation and teaching lists alongside universities like MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, and Dartmouth. UMBC is the only university in Maryland to appear in the top 20 on either list.
UMBC is also again featured in the Princeton Review guide, “The Best 385 Colleges,” for 2020. The publication is widely considered one of the leading guides for prospective undergraduate students in North America. The university’s profile specifically recognizes the dedication of UMBC’s professors. Students note that the university’s faculty “have a knack for inspiring the students” and “UMBC is a place where professors aren’t just talking heads.” UMBC also has been named to the Kiplinger’s 2019 “Best College Value” list. During the summer, the Center for World University Rankings placed UMBC in the top 3.3% of universities worldwide, as well as among the top 170 U.S. universities. QS World University Rankings 2020 ranked UMBC one of the top 500 universities in the world overall and among the best of the best in citations per faculty member -- a key measure of faculty scholarship. In this category, UMBC is No. 48 globally, No. 17 overall in North America and No. 1 in the state of Maryland.
Frostburg State University is ranked No. 70 by U.S. News & World Report on the list of Top Performers in Social Mobility. Frostburg is No. 34 (tied) among Regional Public Universities North, a progression of 15 places from last year. At institutions where doctorates are not offered, Frostburg State is ranked No. 60 for “Best Online MBA Programs,” tied at No. 131 for “Best Online MBA,” and tied at No. 123 for “Best Online Bachelor’s” (the B.S. in nursing).
Washington Monthly named FSU No. 48 on the Master’s University rankings nationally, based on the university’s “contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.” The publication listed FSU as No. 57 on its “Best Bang for the Buck” rankings. (Harvard and Yale are No. 1 and No 2, respectively, on this list, which isolates “social mobility metrics” from the rankings and is not limited to master’s universities.)
U.S. News again honored Salisbury University (SU) in its rankings released September 9. In the northern region, SU ranked 75th in the top tier among 170 publics and privates, and 47th among the north’s “Best Value Schools.” SU also once again made the publication’s list of “A+ Schools for B Students” and “Best Colleges for Veterans.”
For the sixth consecutive year, Money magazine named Salisbury University to its annual “Best Colleges for Your Money” list (190th out of 744 campuses spotlighted). The university also again was ranked among “America’s Top Colleges” by Forbes, “Best Public College Values” (61st for out-of-state costs and 102nd for in-state) by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and “America’s Best Bang for the Buck Colleges” (149th among master’s-level universities nationwide and 138th among all universities in the Northeast) by Washington Monthly. For the 21st year, The Princeton Review named SU among its “Best 385 Colleges,” as well as one of the “Best Northeastern Colleges” and one of the nation’s top “Green Colleges.” SU also remains one of the nation’s best institutions according to LendEDU.com, a private student loan refinancing website. In its fourth year of ranking institutions by student loan debt, the site rated SU No. 1 in the USM for lowest average debt per borrower and No. 2 in the state overall.
In Washington Monthly, the University of Baltimore (UB) is ranked highly in the state in the magazine’s 15th annual college rankings issue. UB is No. 1 in Maryland for advancing the Social Mobility of our students (No. 28 nationally) and No. 1 in Maryland for students’ earning performance 10 years after entering college (No. 7 nationally). UB also is the publication’s No. 1 public university in Maryland for Best 4-Year-College for Adult Learners (No. 31 nationally), No.1 public master’s university in Maryland (No. 33 among top 200 nationally), and No. 1 in Maryland for "Best Bang for the Buck in the Northeast" (No. 18 in the Northeast).
All three of the USM’s historically black institutions are recognized among the Top 50 of the U.S. News & World Report 2020 “America’s Best Colleges” list for Historically Black Colleges. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is tied for No. 19 ; Bowie State University is No. 25; and Coppin State University is No. 49. In late June, the BestColleges.com “Best Historically Black Colleges” also recognized the USM’s three historically black institutions. The publication ranked Bowie State University No. 8; University of Maryland Eastern Shore No. 31; and Coppin State University No. 50.
In its most recent survey, Military Times ranked University of Maryland University College (renamed University of Maryland Global Campus, going into effect Oct. 1) as the top public university and second overall among online and non-traditional schools for military personnel and veterans.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)—Maryland’s only public health, law, and human services university—comprises six professional schools and an interdisciplinary graduate school conferring the majority of health care, human services, and law professional degrees in Maryland each year. These professional schools are routinely ranked among the nation’s best, with several “Top 10” rankings as well.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu