Florida A&M University has steadily climbed the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2024-2025” rankings.
After making a big jump last year, FAMU made another big jump in the latest rankings, surging to 81st place, a 10-place jump from 91st, which would put the university at 103rd place in 2023 and 12 spots up on its way to achieving its long-standing goal of entering the top 100.
But the ranking puts the school in a tie for 81st place with nine other universities: Montclair State University, Stockton University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kansas, University of Kentucky, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and University of Rhode Island.
FAMU also maintained its status as the nation’s top public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) for the sixth consecutive year, and remains tied for third place among public and private HBCUs with Tuskegee University.
“The rankings confirm what we already know: FAMU is moving forward and has the foundation to continue to be an even greater university not just for Tallahassee or Florida but for the world,” FAMU Interim President Timothy Beard told the Tallahassee Democrat.
“We’re changing students’ lives every day, and then they go out and change the world. The word is obviously getting out and we’re still attracting the best and brightest students.”
2023 FAMU rankings: ‘Outstanding’: FAMU enters top 100 in U.S. News & World Report rankings.
FAMU and Tuskegee University currently occupy the third place ranking among public and private HBCUs in the nation (after FAMU pushed Tuskegee down to fourth place last year), while the top spot remains held by Spelman College and Howard University is once again in second place.
Additionally, FAMU improved from 21st to 20th among universities nationwide on the Social Mobility Index, which measures a college’s ability to change the economic trajectory of students and their families.
In this year’s performance-based funding indicator scores, FAMU continues to exceed one of the main goals the Florida Board of Governors expects from the state’s educational institutions: an access rate of more than 30 percent, which represents the percentage of Pell Grant recipients.
FAMU is on the Board of Regents’ watch list when it comes to performance metrics, but its enrollment rate, 56.1 percent, is the highest among the 12 universities.
FAMU Board of Trustees Chair Christine Harper praised former president Larry Robinson in comments about the rankings, which came just over two months after Robinson decided to step down as the university dealt with mishandling of millions of dollars in endowments that were found to be fraudulent in an investigative report.
“This incredible achievement is a testament to FAMU’s students, faculty and administrators,” Harper said in a prepared statement, “whose collaborative commitment to academic improvement and student success is changing the life of each student and transforming our community.”
Beard also praised Robinson’s work in helping FAMU rise up the rankings.
“The improvement in our rankings is the culmination of a long period of hard work by our faculty and administrators,” Beard said. “Obviously, this work dates back to before I returned, but I give credit to former President Robinson and his leadership, as well as the current administration, for instilling a culture of high expectations.”
Beard will hold a press conference at 1:30 pm Tuesday at FAMU’s Will Packer Outdoor Performing Arts Theater to celebrate the university’s progress in the national rankings.
Here are the top 10 rankings of public and private HBCUs nationwide in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2024-2025” rankings:
1st: Spelman College, Private 2nd: Howard University, Private 3rd: Florida A&M University, Public 4th: Tuskegee University, Private 5th: Morehouse College, Private 6th: Xavier University of Louisiana, Private 7th: Hampton University, Private 8th: North Carolina A&T University, Public 9th: Delaware State University, Public 10th: Morgan State University, Public
Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her at X: @tarahjean_
