Rankings for the University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati

UC RANKINGS

U.S. News & World Report rankings

In September 2019, the University of Cincinnati was again named in the Top Tier of the country's "Best National Universities," placing at 139 in the special issue carrying the 2020 rankings. UC is ranked at 64 among top public universities.

UC ranks at No. 3 among the nation's elite institutions for co-op and internships for 2020, and comes in No. 1 in the nation among public universities in this category, beating out the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Duke University, Stanford Univerity and many more.

As the global founder of cooperative education, UC houses the world’s third-largest co-op program where each year, students earn a collective $75 million annually working for about for about 1,300 international employers. The program allows UC students to sequentially alternate academic semesters with professional, paid work directly tied to their majors with employers like Apple, Boeing, Disney, Fisher Price, HBO, NASA, Nike, P&G, Toyota and hundreds more, including non-profits and start-ups too.

In addition, UC has numerous programs ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation. And UC is listed among national universities with substantial economic diversity as measured by the percentage of undergraduates (44 percent) receiving federal Pell Grants for low-income students.

Importantly, UC is also listed among those national universities with a healthy retention rate (87 percent) for the four-year period tracked by these rankings.

It's important to note that for Fall 2019, UC’s first-year retention rate has hit a new record of 88.4 percent.

UC's current graduation rate stands at 68 percent.

These retention and graduation rates are especially impressive due to the university’s role as a Carnegie Classified Research 1 university where 28 percent of the university’s first-year, degree-seeking students are eligible for Pell grants. (Federal Pell grants are provided to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need.)

In the U.S. News global rankings, UC placed at No. 196 globally. The ranking is based on the institution's global and regional research reputation, publications, books, conferences and more.

University-wide rankings

3 — Cooperative Education, 2020
64 — Top public schools, 2020
99 — Best colleges for veterans, 2020
150 — Best value schools, 2020
209 — High school counselor rankings, 2018
291 — Top performers on social mobility, 2020

Colleges

30— College of Pharmacy, 2021
44 — College of Medicine for research, 2021
51 — College of Nursing master's program, 2021
83 — College of Law, 2021
83 — College of Engineering undergraduate studies, 2020
92 — College of Engineering graduate studies, 2021
90 — College of Business undergraduate studies, 2020
99 — College of Business full-time MBA, 2021

Graduate schools

3 — School of Criminal Justice (CECH) graduate studies, 2020
84 — School of Education (CECH) graduate studies, 2021

Best online programs

4 — online master's of science in taxation, 2016 ranking
6 — online graduate nursing programs for veterans, 2019 ranking
7 — online graduate nursing programs, 2020 ranking
10 — online graduate computer information program, 2020 ranking
12 — online graduate criminal justice programs, 2020 ranking
36 — online graduate MBA programs for veterans, 2019 ranking
43 — online graduate engineering programs, 2020 ranking
48 — online graduate education programs, 2020 ranking
55 — online graduate business programs (non MBA), 2020 ranking
62 — online MBA programs, 2020 ranking
73 — online bachelor's program, 2020 ranking

Law programs

131 — trial advocacy, 2021
68 — tax law, 2021
91 — international law, 2021
137 — intellectual property, 2021
116 — environmental law 2021
127 — clinical training, 2021
132 — health care, 2021
78 — business corporate, 2021
98 — contracts-commercial, 2021
68 — criminal, 2021
93 — constitutional, 2021

Medical and health graduate programs

5 — pediatrics, 2021
22— nursing anesthesia, 2018
44 — audiology graduate program (CAHS), 2021
34 — College of Nursing midwifery program, 2021
38 — speech, language pathology graduate program (CAHS), 2021
43 — otolaryngology graduate program, 2014 ranking still current
43 — College of Medicine's primary-care program, 2021
40 — College of Nursing DNP program, 2021
51 — College of Nursing master's program, 2021
57 — physical therapy graduate program, 2021
96 — social work graduate program, 2020
101 — clinical psychology graduate program, 2021

Science, engineering, business graduate programs

6 — paleontology, 2010
40 — aerospace engineering, 2021
51 — environmental engineering, 2021
64 — civil engineering, 2021
89 — materials engineering, 2021
76 — mechanical engineering, 2021
78 — Earth sciences/Geology graduate program, 2019
84 — biomedical engineering, 2021
97 — Computer engineering, 2021
92 — chemical engineering, 2021
MBA:
- 99 — best full-time program, 2021
- 89 — best part-time program, 2021
93 — statistics, 2019
106 — electrical engineering, 2021
100 — physics, 2019
106 — chemistry graduate program, 2019
108 — math graduate program, 2019
112 — biological sciences graduate program, 2019

Humanities and social sciences

55 — fine arts, 2017
53 — fine arts, graduate program 2021
75 — sociology graduate program, 2017
96 — political science graduate program, 2017
108 — English graduate program, 2017
119 — history graduate program, 2017
131 — psychology graduate program, 2017

Various other rankings applaud UC

Note: Most rankings do not occur yearly.

Physical campus

Top in the world and the nation

The New York Times Magazine recently ran an eight-page spread of images focusing on UC's architecture, calling the dramatic campus renovation of the past quarter century "...the most ambitious campus-design program in the country...." (2015)
Forbes magazine — Forbes named UC among the world's most beautiful college campuses. Others making that short list were Oxford University in England as well as Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University and the University of Virginia. (2010)
Delta Sky magazine — UC made the list of the world’s Top Ten most inspiring campuses, as selected by Delta Sky magazine. Campuses were deemed inspiring based upon their settings, design or architecture. (2011)
Yahoo Travel lists UC among the nation's most beautiful college campuses, noting that such architecture not only nabs indecisive students, but also attracts tourists. UC is listed along with Yale, Notre Dame, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Duke and William and Mary. (Oct. 2011)
Travel & Leisure magazine listed UC among the nation's most beautiful campuses, along with Cornell, Duke, Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Yale. (Oct. 2011)

Rave Reviews lists UC among the 50 Most Fun Colleges in America, in part, due to the campus renovation and master planning that has resulted in "one of the most-distinguished collegiate settings." (2017)

College Concensus, a website that aggregates rankings and reviews from students and others, listed UC's Campus Recreation Center No. 37 among the 50 best college recreation centers. The UC rec center comes complete with restaurants, electronic classrooms, stadium grandstands, housing and its athletic core. Its 200,000 square feet of athletic space includes an indoor climbing wall, six-court gymnasium, suspended track, 50-meter lap pool, leisure and whirlpool, and numerous other fitness offerings. (2018)
Best College Reviews named UC’s rec center No. 1 among the “25 most amazing campus student recreation centers” in the country. “UC students have all the amenities that modern students expect, but they enjoy partaking of them in world class architectural achievements, which is a big part of why Cincinnati takes our top spot,” the announcement read. Ohio made a good showing with Ohio State University placing at No. 5 and University of Akron at No. 14. (2013)
Allied Health World named UC’s Campus Recreation Center on West Campus, along with the East Campus Fitness Center in the CARE/Crawley building, to be in the top 10 university fitness centers in the country. The announcement praised the quantity and quality of equipment, swimming pools, etc., but also bragged on the architecture -- Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne and Kristina Loock for the former building, and the latter for winning the Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award. (June 2013)
The Fiscal Times listed UC among the "10 Public Colleges with Insanely Luxurious Dorms," citing the upperclassman housing located in the same building as the Campus Recreation Center and CenterCourt, the dining facility with five food stations. (fall 2012)
HomeTalk.com listed UC's Morgens Hall among its national list of 7 university residence halls with must-have features. Morgens was included for its sustainability features. (2015)

The Huffington Post listed UC's Morgens Hall among the nation's top 10 dorms that put your apartment to shame. (2016)
Top Colleges Online named UC as having three of "The 50 Most Amazing Examples of College Architecture." The top three were the Vontz Center, the Steger Student Center and the Engineering Research Center. (2012)

Financial considerations

"Biggest Bang for Buck"

No. 1 — PolicyMic, a millennial generation news site, ranked UC as top in the nation for giving students the "Best Bang For Their Buck." (2013 study still current)

NACUBO endowment ranking

77th in the U.S. — UC's endowment ranks 77th among all U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, based upon figures from FY17, released in the National Association of College and University Business Officers study. UC's endowment is ranked 31st among public institutions. (This latter figure is based on available FY16 figures.)

Brookings Institution

33rd in U .S. — The University of Cincinnati is ranked 33rd in the country among urban universities in terms of licensing deals, number of inventions, licensing revenue, and startup creation. (2017)

Forbes' Top Colleges List

No. 211 — Forbes' rankings places heavy emphasis on what students get out of college and scores institutions on post-graduate success, student debt, student satisfaction, graduation rate and academic success. (2019)

PayScale College Salary Report

No. 273 — PayScale's annual ranking of earning potential of college graduates finds that UC graduates who have a bachelor’s degree or higher have early career salaries of $49,400 and receive $85,100 at mid-career. UC’s MBA (No. 198) grads were reported in the rankings with earnings of $59,100 (early career) and $115,000 (mid-career). UC’s engineering program was No. 132 in the nation with salaries of $64,600 and $101,000. UC’s social science majors were No. 98 in the nation with salaries of $42,200 and $66,000. The rankings were based on salary data provided by alumni from 1,392 schools. (2016)

SmartAsset Best Value Colleges

Among 10 Best Values in Ohio — SmartAsset, a New York-based financial technology firm, ranked UC among Ohio's best values in higher education based on in-state tuition, student living costs, scholarships and grants, retention rate and graduates' starting salaries. (2019)

Academics, innovation, research, diversity, more

Reuters

UC among the world's 100 most-innovative universities -- In this prestigious list of the world's 100 most-innovative universities contributing to scientific advancement, technology development and powering new markets and industries, UC is listed at No. 46 among U.S. universities and at No. 80 overall among global institutions of higher learning. (2018)

Princeton Review

UC among 'Nation's Best' — UC has been named as one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education for the 13th straight year, according to the Princeton's Review's 2020 edition of "The Best 385 Colleges." (2019)
Named a "Green University" — For the ninth straight year, UC was listed among the nation's 399 "green" universities by Princeton Review. (2018)
Lindner College of Business among best 295 — UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business makes the grad on this Princeton Review list, which comprises the top 15 percent of all four-year business schools in the nation. (2015)
Best Professor in Nation — LisaMarie Luccioni, adjunct professor of communications, was named one of the best 300 undergraduate teachers in the country. She teaches business etiquette and professional image courses in the Lindner Honors-PLUS program and communications in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences. She is one of fewer than 100 Certified Image Professionals in the U.S. (2012)

Academic Ranking of World Universities

Top 400 in the world — UC placed in the top 300 worldwide universities, out of more than 1,200 universities ranked by the Center for World-Class Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. The Chronicle of Higher Education says the ARWU survey "is considered the most influential international ranking." (2017)
Top 119 of American universities (2017)

Center for World University Rankings

United Arab Emirates-based Center for World University Rankings lists UC at No. 204 of the world's top 1,000 universities. CWUR is a consulting agency for governments and higher education institutions. The rankings are based on quality of educaton, alumni employment, quality of faculty, research output, quality of publications, influence and citations. (2018)

National Taiwan University Global Ranking of Scientific Papers

The University of Cincinnati ranks at No. 165 among global institutions based on the peformance of scientific papers. In certain specialty areas, the university ranks even higher: No. 59 in civil engineering (ahead of schools like Yale, Duke, Harvard, Ohio State and more); No. 99 in clinical medicine; No. 131 in life sciences and No. 159 in mechanical engineering. (2015)

National Science Foundation

In the most recently available 2018 rankings from NSF, the university and its affiliates are listed 54th in the United States and 36th among U.S. public universities, based on overall research expenditures. (2018)

Buffalo Business First

UC stands at 125th in these national rankings of the top-rated public colleges and universities, and at No. 26 in the Midwest. (2018)

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

UC is also classified as a "very high research activity" university, placing the university among the 131 research-intensive universities to receive the classification.

UC is also among 361 institutions to hold the 2015 Community Engagement Classification, acknowledging UC's emphasis on service in improving teaching and learning, as well as its commitment to benefiting the local and global community.

Center for Measuring University Performance

Top American research universities — UC was ranked at No. 53 among all U.S. universities and at No. 24 among public institutions. (2013 rankings)

Fiske Guide to Colleges

In the 2020 edition, UC was once again included in the best-selling college guide profiling more than 300 of the "best and most interesting" colleges in the country. ons. (2019)

DesignIntelligence Survey of the Nation's Employers Who Hire Design Grads

Survey of employers
- Industrial design No. 2 — The last time industrial design programs were ranked, UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning was named as having the country's No. 2 undergraduate industrial design program and having the country's No. 4 graduate-level industrial design program. In the Midwest, both the undergraduate and graduate industrial design programs were rated No. 1. (2016)
- Interior design No. 4 — For almost a dozen years, DAAP’s undergraduate interior design program has ranked among the best in the nation. As part of specialty lists that are part of the overall ranking, UC's undergraduate interior design program was named the No. 1 "most admired undergraduate interior design program" due to the co-op program which integrates professional experience with academic growth and students who are well prepared for practice. (2018)
- No. 17 for graduate architecture — DAAP’s graduate-level architecture program has ranked in the nation's top 20 for more than a decade. (2018)

Animation Career Review

The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) graphic design program is ranked No. 27 nationally, No. 8 among programs housed at public institutions, No. 5 in the Midwest and No. 1 in Ohio. (2018)

ArtCareerProject.com

No. 14 graphic design program in the nation — The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) graphic design program made the "Best Graphic Design Schools in the U.S. 2018" list, which ranked the top 26 programs in the country out of 362 post-secondary institutions. (2018)
No. 18 fashion design program in the nation — The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) fashion design program made the "Best Fashion Design Schools in the U.S. 2018," which ranked the top 32 programs. (2018)

Business Insider's Global Design Rankings

DAAP college No. 3 in world — Art directors, product designers and other design professionals rated UC's College of Design, Architecture, and Planning No. 3 in the world as a school that "is best suited to get you the design job you want." The college was the No. 1-ranked public university in that category. (2013)

LinkedIn

No. 8 in the country — DAAP's School of Design ranked eighth among design schools, based upon career outcome data of more than 313 million members. (2014)

CEOWorld Magazine

No. 27 in the world — DAAP's fashion design program, part of the college's School of Design, is ranked among the top 30 in the world, ahead of programs on the Paris, Rome, Los Angeles and San Francisco. (2016)

College Choice

No. 34 in the country — DAAP ranks among the country's top schools offering a bachelor's degree in graphic design. (2016)

Webometric

No. 150 in the world — The Cybermetrics Lab in Spain measures "the performance and impact of universities through their web presence," ranking the University of Cincinnati 150 in the world. Webometrics scores each university on four criteria, the most heavily weighted being the number of links to the institution's website from other sites -- a way of evaluating that site's general impact on the web community say the rankers. (2014)

The Leiden Ranking

The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), Leiden University, has developed a ranking system based on bibliometric indicators. The ranking focuses on global universities with more than 700 Web of Science indexed publications per year. UC ranks 191 in the world in the number of publications, and 81st in the United States. (2015)

The Washington Center

Public University of the Year award — Bestowed on UC in recognition of its dedication to experiential learning. (2013)

National Jurist Magazine

Best Schools for Public Service Careers — UC's College of Law is among the top 20 law schools in the country in the prosecutors/public defenders category. (2016)

UC ranked 13th in the nation for practical training. (2017)

Pre-Law Magazine

For third year in a row, UC has been ranked as an A- (top 40) Best Value law school. (2016)

Top STEM Jobs University

Victory Media named UC among the nation's colleges with top science, technology, engineering and math offerings aligned with in-demand, high-paying jobs, resources to get students jobs, diverse students and faculty and their specific resources to help students earn STEM degrees.

Military Friendly School (MFS)

UC has been designated an MFS for the sixth straight year, placing us among the top 20 percent of schools nationwide, as ranked by Victory Media, a veteran-owned marketing/publishing company. UC has approximately 1,500 student veterans enrolled in 2014, the year the ranking took place. UC has also received the following related rankings:
- 10th for best online graduate nursing program for veterans (U.S. News and World Report, 2014 ranking still current)
- 32nd best online bachelor's programs for veterans (U.S. News and World Report, 2014 ranking still current)
- among top 25 top colleges for veterans (BestColleges.com, 2014 ranking still current)
- 115 — Best colleges for veterans (U.S. News and World Report, 2016)

Nurse.org

UC was ranked among Ohio's Top Ten best nursing schools. (2019)

Affordable Colleges Online (Top LGBTQ schools)

UC was ranked No. 52 among the nation's top LGBTQ-friendly schools, based on surveys of students. (2018)

College Factual (Top Gender Diversity School)

Cincinnati was ranked No. 56 out of 2,486 colleges in the nation, making it one of the best schools in the nation for students seeking gender diversity. (2018)

American Theatre Magazine

UC's College-Conservatory of Music is ranked among the nation's Top 13 musical theatre programs. The magazine opined on these top programs that they "...have turned out some amazing success stories, offering unique coursework that can make a performer stand out from the chorus line." (2017)

BuzzFeed

UC's College-Conservatory of Music's musical theatre program is ranked No. 2 in the nation. The program has "consistently produced some of the most successful and renowned performers, and continues to be incredibly selective with a mere 4% acceptance rate." CCM musical theatre alumni have been seen on Broadway in shows like Anastasia, Beautiful, Chicago, Come From Away, Frozen, Hamilton, Head Over Heels, Kinky Boots, Mean Girls, My Fair Lady, and Waitress. (2018)

Playbill.com

UC's College-Conservatory of Music ranks No. 2 nationally on Playbill.com's list of the Most-Represented Colleges on Broadway in the 2017-2018 season. Others on the list include the University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University, the Juilliard School and the Boston Conservatory. (2017)

Backstage.com

Best for actors on a budget — UC’s College-Conservatory of Music was named one of the top six college programs in the nation for actors on a budget by Backstage.com. Out of 200 incoming freshmen in the fall, about 60 percent of CCM students received some talent-based scholarship. (2013)

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Lindner College of Business in top 100 — UC’s undergraduate business programs ranked 41st in the nation among public business schools. Out of all business schools in the nation, UC placed 84th. 2016
Full-time MBA program in top 100 — The UC Carl H. Lindner College of Business MBA program was ranked No. 74 overall in the nation (No. 37 among U.S. public universities and No. 92 globally). November 2018
Part-time MBA program in top 50 — The UC Lindner College of Business part-time MBA program was ranked 47th in the nation, and number 22 among public programs. October 2015
College of Business' undergraduate program rankings among public schools (2013):
- No. 5 marketing
- No. 5 accounting
- No. 6 quantitative methods
- No. 7 ethics
- No. 10 microeconomics
- No. 10 macroeconomics
- No. 14 international business
- No. 15 operations management
- No. 16 finance
- No. 37 information systems
- No. 40 sustainability
- No. 41 entrepreneurship
- No. 45 corporate strategy
- No. 55 business law

BusinessStudent.com

No. 10 best online MBA in the country, based on tuition, accreditation, acceptance rate, student suport and engagement. (2019)

CEO Magazine

UC's Carl H. Lindner College of Business online MBA program ranks No. 25 among North American business schools. (2017)

InformationWeek

One of Top 20 programs in North America — Business Analytics, UC’s Lindner College of Business was one of only eight U.S. business schools on the list (2013)

Master’s Marketing Degree Online

One of the country’s Top Graduate Online Marketing Programs — Lindner College of Business Master of Science in Marketing (MastersDegreeOnline.com, 2013)

Washington Monthly

Among the nation's best for contributing to the public's good — UC is ranked 214th among the nation’s best schools promoting social mobility, research and service. (Sept. 2017)

SuperScholar.org
(1st "Smart Choice" ranking for online degrees)

Criminal justice No. 2 in nation — The College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services' online criminal-justice degree program was named second best in the nation. Arizona State University took first. (2012)

Chronicle of Higher Education

At top of Fulbright Scholar list — Among research institutions, the University of Cincinnati ranked near the top of the list when the Chronicle published "Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Scholars." UC had seven faculty earning Fulbrights, surpassing Harvard, Columbia, Cornell and Ohio State universities. Only four universities ranked ahead of UC (Pennsylvania State, University of Kansas, Arizona State and New York University). Fulbright awards allow faculty to teach and conduct research internationally. (2011)

INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine

The University of Cincinnati was among the recipients in September 2017 of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from the magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. (2017)

SCImago Research Group

The SCImago Research Group's Institutions Rankings World Report 2010 combines four global indicators revealing performance, institutions' ability to generate scientific knowledge and to achieve international visibility. UC ranks as follows:

203th in the world out of 3,290 institutions (2012)
70th in North America 581 institutions (2011)

International Student Barometer

The International Student Barometer, an annual survey of 142,445 international students attending 172 global institutions, gives UC high marks. In the latest International Student Barometer (ISB), the University of Cincinnati ranked in the top five worldwide as the most welcoming and also in personal banking services and sports facilities. The university also ranked well in university orientation, social facilities and social activities, campus buildings, financial support and cost of living. UC placed ninth overall among national peers. (2016)

Open Doors Report

Open Doors listing supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State lists UC in the Top 40 (at No. 36) of U.S. doctoral-granting universities for the number of students studying abroad. (2018)