On the heels of USF St. Pete celebrating its birthday and the one year anniversary of USF’s new president, the entire university system is back in the news and receiving accolades. The University of South Florida hit an all-time high on U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of the best colleges in America, checking in at No. 97 overall in the rankings released last week.

That No. 97 ranking is USF’s first time to ever crack the Top 100 on the ranking of all American universities, public or private. Among public universities, USF hit another all-time high, rising to the 42nd-ranked public university in the country, its fourth-consecutive year in the Top 50.

The ascension in the rankings continues what has been a meteoric rise for USF over the last 10 years, staking a claim as the fastest-rising university in America over the last decade. During that time span, USF has leaped an incredible 52 spots among public universities, rising from No. 94 to No. 42, and 73 spots among all universities, moving from No. 170 to No. 97.

“The University of South Florida is proud to achieve our highest-ever position in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings and to once again be recognized as America’s fastest-rising university,” USF President Rhea Law said. “USF’s standing in the rankings is a testament to the hard work and success of our faculty, staff and students, who make an impact in our communities every day. We will continue to help shape the future for our society as we pursue our goal of becoming a top-25 public university.”

Rankings continue string of successes for USF

According to USF, the U.S. News methodology combines a host of factors, including student graduation and retention rates, class size, student debt, faculty excellence and academic reputation. From its success in those key areas, USF now ranks ahead of, or is tied with, six public institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities, a group of the top 65 research universities in North America, and one for which USF aspires to be eligible for future membership.

Attaining this all-time high in the rankings is yet another remarkable achievement in what has been a historic stretch for USF lately. The university recently welcomed its largest-ever class of first-year students and received the most applications from prospective students in history, announced a record-breaking fundraising year, and experienced a transformational state budget.

Here in St. Pete, the USF St. Petersburg campus proudly welcomed 8 National Merit Scholars into the incoming class for this fall semester, a new campus record. Overall, USF enrolled 79 National Merit Scholars for the fall 2022 semester, a more than 25% increase from the previous record set last year.

“To continue to bring such talented students to this campus is a recognition of the incredible academic reputation, personalized educational setting and vast opportunities for growth, support and engagement that we provide,” said Christian Hardigree, regional chancellor of USF’s St. Petersburg campus.

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