UC Santa Cruz Ranking In 2021 U.S. News Best Colleges

SANTA CRUZ, CA — As colleges in California continue to work through the academic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, University of California, Santa Cruz and dozens of other Golden State schools were recognized this week for their steadfast dedication to providing students a quality education.

U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday released its 2022 Best Colleges rankings, which evaluate more than 1,400 U.S. colleges and universities on 17 different academic measures. The purpose of the list is to provide students and their families with the necessary tools to find the right college for them.

UC Santa Cruz was tied for 103rd place on the rankings, along with schools such as University of San Francisco, University of Arizona, University of Illinois — Chicago, Temple University and University of Tennessee.

To rank colleges, U.S. News first places each school into a category based on its mission and, in some cases, its geographic location. National universities, which focus on research and offer several doctoral programs, are ranked separately from liberal arts colleges. In its regional rankings, U.S. News only compares universities and colleges with other schools in the same group and region.

Data for the 2022 edition of Best Colleges was gathered in the spring and early summer of this year. U.S. News gathered data on student retention, graduation rates, graduate indebtedness, financial resources, alumni giving and more. Colleges were then ranked based on their overall scores.

Read more about the 2022 Best Colleges methodology.

New this year is the Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs ranking, which looked at more than 690 schools offering Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing degree programs.

The following California colleges and universities were among those included in this year’s rankings.

Best National Universities In California

• Stanford University, Stanford. Ranked 6.
• California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Ranked 9.
• University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Ranked 20.
• University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley. Ranked 22.
• University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Ranked 27.

Best National Liberal Arts Colleges In California

• Pomona College, Claremont. Ranked 4.
• Claremont McKenna College, Claremont. Ranked 8.
• Harvey Mudd College, Claremont. Ranked 28.
• Soka University of America, Aliso Viejo. Ranked 29.
• Scripps College, Claremont. Ranked 30.

Best Regional Universities In California

• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Ranked 2.
• St. Mary’s College of California, Moraga. Ranked 5.
• University of Redlands, Redlands. Ranked 6.
• California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks. Ranked 8.
• Mills College, Oakland. Ranked 10.

Best Regional Colleges In California

• California State University, Maritime Academy, Vallejo. Ranked 3.
• William Jessup University, Rocklin. Ranked 3.
• Life Pacific University, San Dimas. Ranked 17.
• John Paul the Great Catholic University, Escondido. Ranked 19.
• Pacific Union College, Angwin. Ranked 25.

See all California schools ranked among 2022’s Best U.S. Colleges.

Princeton University is once again No. 1 among National Universities, and Williams College remains in the top spot among National Liberal Arts Colleges.

For Top Public Schools, the University of California - Los Angeles is No. 1 among National Universities. The United States Naval Academy ranks No. 1 for Top Public Schools among National Liberal Arts Colleges.