UC San Diego Ranked 4th Best in Nation
in Annual Washington Monthly College Guide
August 22, 2007
By Pat JaCoby
In its annual College Guide released today by the Washington Monthly magazine, the University of California, San Diego is ranked as fourth best among 242 national universities “based on their tangible contributions to the public interest.”
UC San Diego rose to fourth in this year’s ranking from sixth place in last year’s guide.
According to the Washington Monthly, their guide “asks not what colleges can do for you, but what colleges are doing for the country. It’s a guide for all Americans who are concerned about our institutions of higher learning. Are our colleges making good use of our tax dollars? Are they producing graduates who can keep our nation competitive in a changing world? Are they, in short, doing well by doing good?”
Unlike U.S. News’ annual rankings that measure variables such as average faculty salaries and alumni giving rates, the Washington Monthly rates individual schools based on how much they contribute to the nation, such as the number of Ph.D. students that flow into the work force, the amount of research generated by the faculty, and the rate of participation in community service programs.”
Texas A&M took the number one spot among national universities in the third annual college rankings, with UCLA and UC Berkeley placing second and third, respectively. In fourth place, UC San Diego outranked the other top 10 listed universities: Pennsylvania State; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Cornell University; UC Davis; Stanford University and South Carolina State University, respectively.
Overall scores were based on the number of students receiving Pell grants, predicted/actual graduation rate based on percent of Pell recipients and incoming SATs, difference between predicted/actual graduate rates, research grant dollars, bachelor’s to Ph.D. rank, Ph.Ds awarded, Peace Corps rank, ROTC rank, and percent of federal work-study funds spent on service.
UC San Diego, one of the 10 campuses of the world-renowned University of California system, has consistently ranked in the top 10 in numerous national and international rankings. The National Science Foundation ranks UCSD as fifth in the nation in federal research expenditures. Last year UCSD was named the “hottest institution in the nation for students to study science” by Newsweek and the KaplanCollege Guide. In addition, UCSD ranks seventh best public university in the nation in the 2008 U.S. News college rankings.
Media Contacts: Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404