Affordability, Access, Quality

U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked UB among the nation’s top public colleges and universities.

UB is tied for No. 36 among 225 public universities in the 2026 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, published Sept. 23. UB comes in at No. 75 in best national universities, which includes major public and private colleges and universities nationwide.

Several UB schools saw their undergraduate program rankings climb this year, including:

• The School of Nursing, which saw the biggest jump, improving 31 spots to No. 42 among public universities and 37 places to 59th nationally in undergraduate nursing programs.
• The College of Arts and Sciences’ program in economics, which moved up 14 spots to No. 52 among public universities and 31 places to 112th nationally.
• The College of Arts and Sciences’ psychology program, which improved nine places to 45th among public universities and 85th nationally.
• The School of Management, whose business program moved up five spots to No. 54 among public universities and six places to 88th nationally.

The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ undergraduate engineering program also ranks highly again this year; it’s 33rd among public universities and 57th nationally.

UB continues to fare well in U.S. News’ Best Value Schools category, coming in at No. 40 among public universities and 125th nationally.

In Top Performers on Social Mobility, a measure of how successful colleges and universities are at graduating students from low socioeconomic backgrounds who receive federal Pell Grants, UB ranks 40th among public universities and 49th nationally.

UB also remains a Best College for Veterans, coming in at No. 35 among public universities and No. 45 overall.

A UB education is an exceptional value. As a public university, tuition is a fraction of the cost of comparable private institutions—while delivering outstanding outcomes. The Buffalo News reports that UB offers the best return on investment among Western New York colleges and universities.

U.S. News based its rankings on an assessment of more than 1,700 of the country’s four-year colleges and universities, in addition to data reported to the U.S. Department of Education.

UB is among a number of Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions ranked by U.S. News. These include University of California, Berkeley; Michigan; The Ohio State University; Iowa; Indiana; Michigan State; Penn State; University of Wisconsin- Madison; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Purdue; and Rutgers.