Schools
These Are The Top-Ranked Colleges In RI, Wall Street Journal Says
Five institution in Rhode Island are among the 500 best public and private colleges and universities in the country, new rankings say.
RHODE ISLAND — Five institution in Rhode Island are among the 500 best public and private colleges and universities in the country, according to the 2025 rankings from The Wall Street Journal.
Rhode Island’s top school is Brown University, a private Ivy League institution in Providence, according to The WSJ/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. ranking. The following Rhode Island colleges made the list:
- No. 36: Brown University, Providence
- No. 74: Bryant University, Smithfield
- No. 84: University of Rhode Island, Kingston
- No. 105: Providence College, Providence
- No. 160: Salve Regina University, Newport.
The Wall Street Journal noted that in the ranking, half of the colleges in the top 50 are new to the list. But the top ranked school remained unchanged from the previous ranking.
Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
New Jersey’s Princeton University, a four-year Ivy League private school known for its rigorous academic standards and selectivity in admissions, topped the ranking for the second year in a row.
“Our ranking measures how well each college sets graduates up for financial success. We look at how much a school improves students’ chances of graduating and their future earnings, balancing these outcomes with feedback from students on college life,” The Journal wrote. “We don’t measure reputation, nor the college’s own finances.”
Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Journal said public schools are prominent among colleges that moved up in the rankings. Two are in the top 10 — the University of California, Berkeley at No. 8, and the Georgia Institute of Technology at No. 9. Last year, there were no public schools in the top 10.
The Journal developed the ranking in collaboration with research partners College Pulse and Statista.
Read more on the methodology and findings on The Wall Street Journal.
Also read:
- Johnson & Wales University Expands Free Tuition Program For Students In 4 More States
- This RI College Is Among The 8th Hardest To Get Into In The U.S.
Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
