Vanderbilt University maintained its spot in the top 20 in U.S. News & World Report’s national university rankings released last month.
Four other Tennessee universities also ranked in the top 250 on the national university list, which includes 436 schools. In addition, two Tennessee schools ranked in the top 100 liberal arts college rankings, which includes 211 schools.
According to U.S. News, a school is considered a national university if it offers any undergraduate program in addition to master’s, doctoral, and professional practice degrees. It is also defined as a university that focuses on faculty research. Liberal arts schools are defined by their emphasis on undergraduate education, with at least 50% of degrees awarded in liberal arts and sciences.
Last year’s best university: Vanderbilt University, ranking of other Tennessee universities
Notes on methodology
Last year, a change in methodology significantly changed the way some schools made the list. For example, Vanderbilt University fell five spots last year, while the University of Tennessee-Knoxville moved up 10 spots. Other companies saw even more rapid changes, with some dropping or climbing dozens of places.
According to U.S. News, there were minimal changes in methodology this year. Still, questions swirl about the accuracy of this methodology, as well as the relevance of university rankings as a whole. A recent survey of university admissions officers conducted by Kaplan, a global education services company, found that 75% said university rankings have lost their prestige in recent years. Vanderbilt University also commissioned an in-depth study of five college ranking systems, including U.S. News, and concluded that while college rankings are undoubtedly popular, they have methodological problems.
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Vanderbilt University ranks among the top 20 universities in the United States
See where Vanderbilt University ranks among the top 20 national universities in this year’s rankings. The list contains 20 schools, some of which have the same ranking, and is then organized alphabetically.
#1: Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) #2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) #3: Harvard University (Cambridge, MA) #4: Stanford University (Stanford, CA) #5: Yale University (new) Connecticut California Institute of Technology (Pasadena, California) #6: Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) #6: Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland) #6: Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) #6 10 : University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) #11: Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) #11: University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) #13: Brown University (Providence, RI) #13: Columbia University (NY) Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) #15: University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California) #17: University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California) #18: Rice University (Houston, Texas) #18: University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana) #18: Vanderbilt University (Nashville, Tennessee)
Which universities in Tennessee are ranked in the top 250?
Along with Vanderbilt, four more Tennessee universities ranked in the top 250 on U.S. News’ Best National Universities list this year.
Here are those schools and their rankings:
#109: University of Tennessee, Knoxville #209: Union University (Jackson) #220: Belmont University (Nashville) #244: Lipscomb University (Nashville)
Which liberal arts colleges in Tennessee are ranked in the top 100?
Two Tennessee schools were ranked among the top 100 liberal arts colleges in this year’s U.S. News rankings.
#45: University of the South (Sewanee) #59: Rhodes College (Memphis)
See the complete university rankings for yourself
U.S. News also offers a variety of other rankings, including regional colleges and historically black colleges and universities. Want to explore the rest of the U.S. News rankings, learn about our methodology and more? Visit usnews.com/best-colleges.
