January 10, 2006

Kiplinger Ranks UCSD 11 th in Nation
for “First-Class Education at Bargain Prices”

By Paul K. Mueller

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance issued its yearly rankings today identifying the top 100 values in public colleges. The University of California, San Diego ranks 11 th in the nation for offering a “first-class education at bargain prices,” said the magazine.

Kiplinger’s, founded in 1947, offers its readers advice on money management and financial security. The top 100 list, published on Tuesday, Jan. 10, ranks colleges and universities based on graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and expenditures on instruction and library resources. Further criteria were quality of education, cost of education, and financial aid.

The nation’s best values in public colleges include some of UCSD’s sister University of California campuses, including UC Berkeley (12) and UCLA (15).

Ranked 1 st is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by the University of Florida and the University of Virginia.

“Using a rigorous quantitative ranking system,” say the Kiplinger’s Personal Finance writers, “the Kiplinger 100 finds schools where students can receive a stellar education without graduating with a mountain of debt.”

In other recent rankings, UCSD was rated by U.S. News and World Report’s 2006 College Guide as 7 th in the nation among public universities; Newsweek and the 2006 Kaplan /Newsweek Guide named UCSD the “hottest” institution in the country for science students; the National Science Foundation ranks UCSD 7 th in the nation in federal research and development; the National Research Council ranks UCSD 10 th in the nation in overall quality of faculty and graduate programs, and 1 st in the nation for oceanography and neurosciences; and the 2006 Washington Monthly rankings put UCSD at 8 th place based on “what colleges are doing for the country.”

In addition, among all medical schools, the UCSD School of Medicine ranks first nationally in federal research funding, and UCSD has the 7 th highest faculty membership in the National Academy of Sciences.

For more information on the Kiplinger rankings, or their methodology, visit www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

Media Contact: Paul K. Mueller, (858) 534-8564.