Vanderbilt University was named the No. 18 national university in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report, improving one position from last year and tying with Emory University and the University of Notre Dame.
Vanderbilt was also ranked No. 14 among national universities in the Great Schools, Great Prices category marking it as a good value for its tuition costs. The magazine noted that 12 percent of Vanderbilt students receive Pell Grants for low-income students, ranking it in the Top 25.
"We’re pleased to be recognized once again by U.S. News & World Report as one of the best universities in the country," said Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos. "We’re diligent about improving the student experience at Vanderbilt, and this is one reflection that tells us we are succeeding."
The annual rankings by U.S. News were released on Friday. Harvard University was named the top national university. The Top 5 was rounded out by Princeton University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.
Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering program improved five positions to No. 38, tied with Arizona State University, Brown University, Case Western Reserve University, Iowa State University, Lehigh University, Washington University in St. Louis and Yale University. MIT was ranked No. 1.
In the overall rankings, Vanderbilt has progressed from No. 24 in 1989 to consistently cracking the Top 20 since 2003. No. 18 is Vanderbilt’s highest ranking ever, tying with the years 2006, 2005, 2004 and 1994.
Highlights of the rankings will be published in the Sept. 1 issue of U.S. News & World Report, which will be available Aug. 26 on newsstands.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 Top 25 national universities are below. There are ties for several of the positions:
1. Harvard University
2. Princeton University
3. Yale University
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Stanford University
6. California Institute of Technology
6. University of Pennsylvania
8. Columbia University
8. Duke University
8. University of Chicago
11. Dartmouth College
12. Northwestern University
12. Washington University in St. Louis.
14. Cornell University
15. Johns Hopkins University
16. Brown University
17. Rice University
18. Emory University
18. University of Notre Dame
18. Vanderbilt University
21. University of California-Berkeley
22. Carnegie Mellon University
23. Georgetown University
23. University of Virginia
25. University of California-Los Angeles.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu