UF’s rank among public universities dropped to No. 8 per the U.S. News & World Report 2027 list released Tuesday. The rank marks UF’s 10th consecutive year as a top 10 national public university.
In 2026 and 2025, UF ranked No. 7 in the category, trailing behind UC San Diego. This year, the university tied with UC Irvine and UC Davis, while UC Berkeley took its previous rank.
The university also dropped in its overall ranking, falling four spots from No. 30 in 2026.
Other Florida state schools were featured in the public school list, with Florida State coming in at No. 24, Florida International and South Florida tying at No. 46 and Central Florida sitting at No. 58.
U.S. News & World Report compares more than 1,700 four-year colleges and universities, 422 being public, across 17 different measures. Rankings are interpreted based on a school’s eligibility, academic data quality and student outcomes.
Student performance is measured through factors such as performance in courses and graduation rates, according to U.S. News & World Report, and universities must be regionally accredited, offer in-person education and award bachelor degrees to be considered.
Tuesday’s report comes after UF placed No. 4 in public universities in Time magazine’s annual college rankings in August.
Contact Lilyanna Collado at lcollado@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @lilyannacollado.
Lilyanna Collado is a junior journalism student and this is her first semester at The Alligator! This semester she is the Santa Fe reporter. When she's not writing she either reading, going to theme parks and spending time with her four dogs.
