Johns Hopkins rises to No. 6 in 'U.S. News' best colleges rankings

Johns Hopkins University rose to No. 6 among national universities—its highest-ever position in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the nation's best colleges for undergraduates.

The annual list, released today, showed the university tied for sixth with three other schools: California Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Northwestern University.

U.S. News has counted Johns Hopkins among the top 10 national universities since 2019 and among the top 20 in all but one year since the rankings launched in the 1980s. The rankings highlight colleges that excel in areas such as value, social mobility, and teaching as well as within the academic disciplines of business, computer science, engineering, nursing, economics, and psychology.

This year Hopkins had the lowest median student debt among all national universities, an ongoing reflection of the transformative $1.8 billion gift from philanthropist, business leader, and Johns Hopkins alumnus Michael R. Bloomberg to support undergraduate financial aid. The funds have helped to cut the average Hopkins graduate's federal loan debt in half since Bloomberg gave the donation in 2018. U.S. News also ranked Hopkins No. 10 for value, based on a combination of academic quality and net cost of attendance.

Hopkins ranked No. 10 for innovation and No. 12 for undergraduate research/creative projects, reflecting the school's success at providing students with ample opportunities to participate in projects outside the classroom. More than 80% of Hopkins undergraduates participate in at least one research experience during their time at the university, and students average eight to 10 hours per week participating in research opportunities, according to the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research.

U.S. News recognized Hopkins as a national leader in several academic disciplines at the undergraduate level. The university is No. 1 in biomedical engineering, No. 5 in biocomputer/bioinformatics/biotechnology, and rose three positions to No. 18 in artificial intelligence. U.S. News ranks graduate disciplines separately each spring.

Below is the complete list of top 20 individual undergraduate program and discipline rankings:

• No. 1 in biomedical engineering
• No. 5 in biocomputer/bioinformatics/biotechnology
• No. 13 (tied) in engineering
• No. 14 (tied) psychology
• No. 16 in environmental/environmental health engineering
• No. 18 in artificial intelligence
• No. 19 in computer science
• No. 20 in mechanical engineering
• No. 20 in chemical engineering

This year the rankings were calculated using 17 measures of academic quality to evaluate nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor's degree–granting institutions. These statistics reflect educational excellence and graduate outcomes as well as considerations that vary person to person, like campus culture, strength in specific majors, and financial aid offered.