The 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings assesses universities worldwide for their commitment to sustainability efforts in research, stewardship, outreach and teaching based on metrics provided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

When evaluating how colleges and universities fare overall by aggregating all 17 SDG categories, only seven U.S. institutions made the top 100 list. Arizona State University (Tempe) ranked highest at 6. Michigan State University tied for 26, Penn State (main campus) tied for 40, Oklahoma State University tied for 72, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University tied for 92, Iowa State University ranked 96 and Florida International University tied for 100.

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THE’s top 10 ranking

Canada had the most institutions to make the top 10 list with four, followed by Australia with three. The U.S. only had one.

Individual Sustainable Development Goals Rankings

Aside from THE’s overall rankings, the website also ranked colleges and universities across all 17 of the United Nations’ SDGs. The U.S. failed to rank first in any category, but several reached the top 10 in seven categories. U.S. universities performed the best in SDG 14 (Life below water), the focus being to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”

“American universities are doing well in a number of key areas,” said Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer for THE. “However, given the breadth and depth of higher education in the country, and global leadership in university research, we expect to see more American institutions come forward and demonstrate their commitment to supporting a sustainable future for all.”

• SDG 1 – No poverty: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #10
• SDG 2 – Zero hunger: Iowa State University – 3#
• SDG 3 – Good health and well-being: University of Colorado Denver (Anschutz Medical Campus) – #35 (tied)
• SDG 4 – Quality education: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #62 (tied)
• SDG 5 – Gender equality: Towson University – #26
• SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation: Arizona State University (Tempe) and Florida International University – #7 (tied)
• SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy: Iowa State University – #16 (tied)
• SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #77 (tied)
• SDG 9 – Industry innovation and infrastructure: University of South Florida – #49 (tied)
• SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #24 (tied)
• SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities: Penn State (Main campus) – #11 (tied)
• SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University – #22 (tied)
• SDG 13 – Climate action: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #6 (tied)
• SDG 14 – Life below water: Florida International University – #2, Arizona State University (Tempe) – #4 and Penn State (Main campus) – #9
• SDG 15 – Life on land: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #5 and Michigan State University – #9
• SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions: Arizona State University (Tempe) – #8
• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals: Michigan State University – #34

“We hope this year’s ranking will help showcase and spread good practice and provide the impetus for more American universities to step up next year,” said Baty.

Learn more about THE’s methodology for this ranking here.

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With over 140 million college reviews and ratings, Niche has a “Best Colleges” category for various lenses, from student life and party scene to academics and professors.

“Our goal is to give students an accurate picture of what it’s really like to attend a particular college, depending on the factors that are important to them,” said a representative of Niche, according to Campus Reform.

Of the 30 colleges featured across both rankings, 23 align with the state’s majority political affiliation, according to data from the Pew Research Center. The seven colleges that lean most significantly in a political direction contrary to their state are conservative institutions in majority-liberal states. Although Pew’s data suggests Florida and Texas are liberal-leaning, both voted red in the 2020 presidential election. Additionally, colleges from Pennsylvania and California made both rankings.

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The 15 most conservative colleges

Utah State University is the only college on this list without a religious affiliation. Texas had the highest number of colleges to make this ranking with three, followed by Utah and South Carolina with two.

1. Brigham Young University (Utah)
2. Liberty University (Va.)
3. Bob Jones University (S.C.)
4. Cedarville University (Ohio)
5. Colorado Christian University
6. Brigham Young University (Idaho)
7. North Greenville University (S.C.)
8. Biola University (Calif.)
9. Utah State University
10. Palm Beach Atlantic University (Fla.)
11. Southern Methodist University (Texas)
12. Grove City College (Pa.)
13. Samford University (Ala.)
14. University of Dallas
15. Dallas Baptist University

The 15 most liberal colleges

California featured five colleges on this ranking, followed by New York with three.

1. American University – (D.C.)
2. University of California – Santa Cruz
3. Academy of Art University (Calif.)
4. University of Vermont
5. Northeastern Illinois University
6. San Jose State University (Calif.)
7. Boston University (Mass.)
8. University of Washington
9. University of California – Riverside
10. New York University
11. University of Oregon
12. SUNY Stony Brook University
13. Adelphi University (N.Y.)
14. West Chester University of Pennsylvania
15. California State University – East Bay

To create its rankings for the most liberal and conservative colleges in the nation, Niche asked current or recent students to report their personal political leanings and those of other students on campus. The first question carried 80% weight and the second 20% as Niche compiled the data.

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The popular rankings website averaged three years’ worth of national survey data from nearly 70,000 people. It analyzed the share of each state’s college degree holders, graduation rates, costs of in-state tuition and fees and graduate debt load.

The higher education ranking, along with pre-K12, creates an overall education category, which serves as one component of U.S. News’ broader Best States rankings.

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Here are2023’s “Best States” in America for higher education, abridged to the top 20:

1. Florida: 
   • #1: Tuition and Fees
   • #2: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
   • #6: 4-Year-College Graduation Rate
2. Washington
   • #7: Tuition and Fees
   • #8: Low Debt at Graduation
   • #8: 4-Year-College Graduation Rate
3. California
   • #4: Low Debt at Graduation
   • #5: 4-Year-College Graduation Rate
   • #12: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
4. Wyoming
   • #2: Tuition and Fees
   • #5: Low Debt at Graduation
   • #5: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
5. Colorado
   • #2: Population With Advanced Degree
   • #4: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
   • #15: Low Debt at Graduation
6. Utah
   • #1: Low Debt at Graduation
   • #4: Tuition and Fees
   • #12: Population With Advanced Degree
7. North Carolina
   • #8: Tuition and Fees
   • #11: 4-Year-College Graduation Rate
   • #16: Low Debt at Graduation
8. South Dakota
   • #1: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
   • #23: Tuition and Fees
   • #25: Population With Advanced Degree
9. Nevada
   • #3: Low Debt at Graduation
   • #3: Tuition and Fees
   • #41: 4-Year-College Graduation Rate
10. Nebraska
    • #13: 2-Year-College Graduation Rate
    • #14: Low Debt at Graduation
    • #14: Population With Advanced Degree
11. Iowa
12. Maryland
13. Kansas
14. New York
15. Wisconsin
16. North Dakota
17. Virginia
18. Minnesota
19. Georgia
20. Delaware

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According to Burning Glass’ data published by The Wall Street Journal, a degree in data science earns a student a $100,323 median salary over the first ten years. However, a Princeton graduate can be taking home over $138,000. As far as private institutions go, four other Ivy League schools can land you at least a $20,000 premium.

California schools own the public college top 10 list of data science graduate earnings, earning the first nine spots. The University of California system alone took up six.

Data science has exploded in the last decade and it’s nowhere near its ceiling. The amount of job postings alone has increased from 172 in 2010 to 64,428 in 2023, according to Burning Glass President Matt Sigelman. Moreover, the average percentage of students at each school graduating with a data science degree is less than 2%.

Burning Glass used the company-ratings website Glassdoor to calculate the average salary employees earn 10 years removed from graduating, and they analyzed data on experience and pay from Lightcast, a labor-market data firm as well.

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Top 10 Private Colleges

The average percentage of data science graduates per school is 1.9%. The average net price of a degree in data science is $23,766.80.

Top 10 Public Colleges

The average percentage of data science graduates per school is 0.84%. The average net price of a degree in data science is $16,837.20.

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“The State of Educator Pay in America” from The National Education Association explores higher education faculty salaries and the factors leading to pay discrepancies so that all stakeholders of higher education can have a more informed conversation about educators’ quality of life.

“Equipped with our educator pay data, we are able to negotiate and advocate for the better wages and benefits that our educators deserve,” wrote NEA in a tweet.

The average salary for full-time faculty was $93,914 for the 2021-22 academic year, and although this reflects a 2.1% increase over the previous year, they lost $4,837 in purchasing power due to inflation compared to 2020-21. Faculty at public, four-year institutions made slightly more at $96,414, while public, two-year institutions made significantly less at $74,173.

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Union power

Educators that resided in states with faculty unions and had contracts in place made up to $15,000 more compared to those who lived in states without unions at all.

Research Universities

• Institutions with faculty contacts: $107,142
• In states without faculty unions: $90,930

Two-year colleges

• Institutions with faculty contacts: $85,154
• In states without faculty unions: $60,390

Pay discrepancies

NEA found that women earned 85 cents to the dollar compared to men in public higher education institutions.

Similarly, HBCU educators earned 75 cents to the dollar compared to faculty at other institutions, or about $24,000 less.

“Paying educators attractive, competitive salaries is an important sign of respect,” wrote NEA in a tweet. “It acknowledges their value and vital importance and allows them to keep their focus on their students’ successes.”

Faculty Salary, ranked by state

Here is a list of all 50 states ranked by their respective average salaries for higher education faculty.

1. California – $121,071
2. New Jersey – $121,056
3. Delaware – $116,394
4. Hawaii – $110,204
5. Connecticut – $109,530
6. Michigan – $104,706
7. Washington – $103,101
8. Massachusetts – $102,048
9. Pennsylvania – $101,519
10. Virginia – $101,425
11. Iowa – $101,207
12. New York – $100,189
13. Florida – $100,126
14. Maryland – $99,713
15. Arizona – $99,098
16. Rhode Island – $98,997
17. Illinois – $97,392
18. Ohio – $96,972
19. Minnesota – $96,553
20. New Hampshire – $95,237
21. Texas – $94,781
22. Utah – $94,364
23. Nevada – $94,143
24. Oregon – $93,307
25. Indiana – $93,107
26. Colorado – $92,181
27. Nebraska – $89,770
28. Wyoming – $89,741
29. Wisconsin – $89,651
30. Vermont – $88,273
31. South Carolina – $87,379
32. D.C. – $87,026
33. North Carolina – $87,011
34. Alabama – $86,762
35. Tennessee – $85,032
36. Georgia – $84,655
37. Maine – $84,209
38. Alaska – $84,063
39. Kansas – $83,153
40. Missouri – $80,980
41. New Mexico – $80,444
42. North Dakota – $80,213
43. Montana – $79,719
44. Oklahoma – $79,342
45. Idaho – $78,392
46. Kentucky – $77,923
47. West Virginia – $76,407
48. South Dakota – $75,541
49. Arkansas – $74,163
50. Louisiana – $73,995
51. Mississippi – $73,096

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U.S. News chose this time around to pay closer attention to the student experience and career opportunities each school has to offer. Consequently, they increased the weight of the faculty/student ratio in its medical school ranking. For its law schools, they increased the weight of employment 10 months after graduating. Across both, U.S. News reduced the weight of each school’s median MCAT, LSAT and GPA scores and the importance of reputation surveys.

However, the dean of Yale Law, who was the first proponent of dropping out of the popularized ranking system, remained unphased by the changes.

“Having a window into the operations and decision-making process at U.S. News in recent weeks has only cemented our decision to stop participating in the rankings,” said Dean Heather Gerken.

Ironically enough, Yale Law nabbed first place again, this time tied with Stanford, in U.S. News’ latest law school schools ranking, which teased the top 15.

Similarly, the dean of UCLA law, whose program bumped up one spot this year, was unfazed.

“I am pleased when any publication recognizes that UCLA Law is an outstanding law school, but there is nothing magical about being in the U.S. News ‘T14,’” wrote interim dean Russell Korobkin in an email, according to The Washington Post, “and I hope that students will come to UCLA not because of that but because we have a tremendous faculty and outstanding educational programs and opportunities.”

One way that U.S. News was able to get around its lack of participation from dissenting medical schools was by using statistical surveys and included “publicly available metrics from the National Institutes of Health,” according to The New York Times. However, some of the surveys used were over a year old if more recent information was not available, a fact that is sure to draw further criticism from schools on its merit.

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According to Burning Glass’ data published by The Wall Street Journal, a degree in finance from some of the country’s most esteemed private institutions can earn a student at least $30,000 more than the median B.A. graduate. Specifically, an MIT graduate can earn almost $50,000 more, practically a salary itself. Comparatively speaking, graduates from the University of Chicago, which ranks 10th on the private college list, still makes more at a $31,833 premium than a graduate from the University of Virginia, whose average premium is $19,676.

Burning Glass used the company-ratings website Glassdoor to calculate the average salary employees earn 10 years removed from graduating, and they analyzed data on experience and pay from Lightcast, a labor-market data firm as well.

The Ivy Leagues dominate the private college list, taking up five out of ten top spots among private schools. New York had the greatest number of schools featured across both lists, among them are Columbia University in the City of New York, Binghamton University, CUNY Bernard M Baruch College, Stony Brook University and SUNY at Albany. Out of these five, Middlebury College is the only private school.

Here is the list of both private and public colleges, abridged down from the report’s top 20.

Top 10 Private Colleges

Top 10 Public Colleges

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The New York Times’ brand new “Build Your Own Rankings” tool allows students to curate a Top 10 college list based on priorities that are important to them. It’s a college “ranking” that does not necessarily subject students to an authoritative opinion of what’s best.

“That’s only fitting: Where to attend college is a big decision, if not nearly as consequential as many young people believe, because college is a serious commitment of time and money,” said Frank Bruni in a New York Times op-ed where he introduced the new tool. “It shouldn’t be outsourced to U.S. News, Forbes or any other organization spitting out a one-size-fits-all hierarchy with a debatable methodology dictated by nameless, faceless number crunchers.”

Bruni makes it clear The Times is tired of general rankings lists, but that its journalists also understand the value of a trusted source that can give young, yearning students a guide to finding a higher ed fit. Using a simple slider, students can easily scale what elements of a college’s or university’s strengths are important to them—such as economic mobility, athletics, or even party scene.

It then aggregates all the elements, stacking them against each other as a percentage of the user’s overall priorities. Each small change made to an element’s slider populates a new Top 10 list. The list can be further customized for school size, location, religious affiliation and urbanization.

The ranking covers 883 nonprofit institutions, each with more than 500 students and a graduation rate of 50% or higher. The data was largely collected by the National Center for Education Statistics, followed by College Scorecard, Niche and Opportunity Insights. Read more about the methodology here.

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QS ranked 1,594 institutions across 54 different subjects, taking into account a total of 15,700 academic programs. Academic disciplines were grouped into five categories: Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences and Medicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences and Management.

A U.S. school gained the top spot in 32 out of the 54 subjects examined with Harvard and MIT securing the most per subject with 14 and 11, respectively. With a combined 25 subjects to their name—more than all the schools in the United Kingdom (15) ranking #1 in a discipline—Harvard and MIT’s prestige on the home turf and the world stage is irrefutable.

Rounding out the remaining top spots in the U.S. was the University of Pennsylvania, with two bests in Nursing and Marketing. Schools earning one top spot were Notre Dame (Theology, Divinity and Religion), University of Michigan (Dentistry), University of Texas (Petroleum Engineering), New York University (Philosophy) and Colorado School of Mines (Mineral and Mining Engineering).

Here are the top three schools per the five general subject categories:

Arts and Humanities

1. Harvard University
2. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
3. University of Oxford (U.K.)

Engineering and Technology

1. MIT
2. Stanford University
3. University of Cambridge

Life Sciences and Medicine

1. Harvard University
2. University of Oxford
3. Johns Hopkins University

Natural Sciences

1. Harvard University
2. MIT
3. University of Cambridge

Social Sciences and Management

1. Harvard University
2. University of Oxford
3. Stanford University

While it’s fun to point out “the best” per subject, a school that makes the top 10 in subject rankings among 1,594 institutions is still a huge feat. In total, 256 U.S. higher education programs made the top 10. Again, the United Kingdom had the second-most at 145. Switzerland was third with 32.

Indicators used to evaluate schools programs were the following:

• Academic reputation
• Employer reputation
• Research citations per paper
• International research network, which denotes the breadth of the school’s network across the world and its research partnerships with other higher education institutions
• H-index, which measures an academic or school department’s productivity and impact regarding paper citations

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But many students may be attracted to these schools due to their vocational training programs, higher acceptance rates, and flexible hours.

Averaging the scores of for-profit college rankings from U.S. News, uniRank, and Prepler across the U.S., Yahoo News and Insider Monkey created their own list that streamlines the results into one place. Factoring into the rankings are faculty resources, student enrollment and retainment, school reputation, and spending per student on instruction, to name but a few.

Some of these schools have been publicly legitimized by their niches. Academy of Art University, for example, has participated in New York Fashion Week since 2005. Sullivan University, distinguished for its culinary program, was the only school in the U.S. to be officially invited to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to prepare meals for Olympic competitors and sponsors.

The top school on the list was unanimously ranked #1 across the college ranking websites previously mentioned. When taking Grand Canyon University out of the non-profit arena and stacking it against all the best national universities in the country, the school ranked between 330 and 441, according to U.S. News. (Note: According to the public relations office at Grand Canyon University, the institution is a nonprofit entity but is classified as a proprietary institution solely for the purposes of federal funding, which requires it to adhere to the stricter regulations for federal funding that apply to for-profit schools. Officials from GCU also note that they did not and do not submit information to U.S. News for use in determining their rankings.)

The second-top school, Colorado Technical University, was regarded as the best online and non-traditional university for veterans in 2013, 2014, and 2016 by Military Times.

The average annual tuition among these schools is $23,736 per year.

These were named the top 10 for-profit schools:

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