The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked 8th among top public universities and 34th in overall national universities out of 427 institutions in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings for 2027, the outlet announced Tuesday.
The rankings are the university’s highest in the Best Colleges report in almost two decades. UW-Madison was ranked 12th in top public universities for 2026 and 36th overall in the 2026 report, and 13th in public and 39th overall the year before.
This follows Time Magazine’s January ranking of UW-Madison as 4th in top public universities in the U.S.
“These rankings — while only one measure of a school’s success — reflect the incredible breadth of educational programs, research opportunities and cross-campus collaborations that makes UW–Madison unique,” Eric Wilcots, interim chancellor, said in a university statement. “We are dedicated to excellence and preparing today’s learners to be tomorrow’s forward-looking leaders.”
UW-Madison also rose to 24th, up from 47th, in the Best Value Schools ranking, and was ranked 4th in a new category, “Best Value Schools for In-State Students.”
Wilcots said the university’s placements in these categories is also validation of the innovative programs UW-Madison offers to make college accessible and affordable “such as Bucky’s Pell Pathway and Bucky’s Tuition Promise,” both programs dedicated to help low-income students.
According to the 2025-26 budget report, one in four Wisconsin resident undergraduate students receive financial aid through these programs and 22% of the budget was spent on financial aid.
Other rankings UW-Madison received for this year include 15th in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs and Business Programs, 22nd in computer science, 19th in nursing and 24th in study abroad.
