Best Wisconsin colleges: National report ranks these 38 institutions
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - U.S. News & World Report released its "2024 Best Colleges" report on Monday, Sept. 18 – ranking hundreds of universities and colleges across the country, including 38 in Wisconsin.
The 2024 report moved entirely away from using "class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing and the proportion of graduates who borrow federal loans" as measure. Outcome metrics, such as graduates with manageable debt and post-graduate success, received significantly more weight – upping them to over 50% overall – the study said.
The study split universities into a number of categories. The primary ranking of "National Universities" considered colleges that offer "a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs." They are also "committed to producing groundbreaking research."
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National universities in Wisconsin (with rank out of 439)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (No. 35)
- Marquette University (No. 86)
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (No. 249)
- Concordia University Wisconsin (No. 304)
- Edgewood College (No. 320)
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (No. 332)
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (No. 332)
Marquette University
Wisconsin also had multiple universities ranked on two smaller lists. Milwaukee School of Engineering was ranked the No. 2 "Regional Universities Midwest," defined by the study as colleges that offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees, some master's degrees and few if any doctorate degrees. Lawrence University (No. 75) was Wisconsin's highest-ranked "National Liberal Arts College," defined as colleges that almost exclusively offer undergraduate degrees, mostly in arts and sciences programs.
A number of Wisconsin were unranked. You can find the complete list of Wisconsin colleges on the US News website. The report's full methodology is also available online.