U.S. News & World Report once again ranked Carleton among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation and as the best institution in the nation for undergraduate education.
In 2025, Carleton University ranked #8 among U.S. liberal arts colleges in the nation in the Best Colleges rankings, up from #9 last year. U.S. News made some methodological changes from last year’s rankings, with more than half of the school rankings now “consisting of a variety of outcome measures related to a school’s success in terms of enrollment, retention, graduation, and manageable debt and post-graduation success for students from diverse backgrounds.” Carleton is the only Midwestern institution in the top 10.
Academically, Carleton University maintained its title as the best school for undergraduate teaching. This is the 14th consecutive year that Carleton University has held this number one position.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Carleton 17th among liberal arts colleges in its Best College Value rankings. The magazine measures value by relating a college’s academic quality, as indicated by the U.S. News overall ranking, to the net tuition cost for out-of-state students with average levels of financial aid. The higher the quality of the programs and the lower the tuition, the better the deal.
Carleton University also improved its rankings in the areas of freshman experience (26th), study abroad (24th) and professional writing (7th).
Carleton University also continues to appear on multiple lists in U.S. News & World Report’s “Academic Programs to Watch” rankings, including Social Mobility, Most Innovative Schools, Senior Capstone, Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects, Best Undergraduate Economics, and Best Undergraduate Computer Science. U.S. News & World Report believes schools on these lists are excellent examples of academic programs that lead to student success.