Contributor

For the eighth consecutive year, the U.S. News & World Report has named the University of North Florida a “Best Regional” university in its 2019 edition of “Best Colleges,” which includes data from more than 1,800 colleges and universities nationwide.

As a regional best, UNF ranked No. 42, up six spots from last year, and landed No. 14 as a “Top Public School” for 2019, up four places over last year’s ranking. The University also ranked No. 29 in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” list and No. 58 as a “Best Value” school. All rankings are among regional universities in the South.

“I take great pride in being able to lead a university that is of the caliber of the University of North Florida,” said UNF President David Szymanski. “The University is showing up in nearly every national college ranking, putting UNF at the top of some very impressive lists. These accolades are a true testament to our outstanding faculty and staff as well as the talents of our phenomenal students.”

The institutions selected as a U.S. News & World Report “Best Regional” university provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs and offer various doctoral programs. The universities in this category aren’t ranked nationally but rather against their peer group in one of four geographic regions—North, South, Midwest and West.

The 2019 “Best Colleges” rankings feature the established rankings of the Best National Universities and Best National Liberal Arts Colleges, while also including the Best Regional Universities, Best Colleges for Veterans, Best Value Schools, among many others.

The rankings are based on key measures of quality such as academic reputation; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources (including class size, the percentage of faculty with the top academic degree, student-faculty ratio); student selectivity; financial resources; and alumni giving. For more information about the rankings, visit colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges.

This latest recognition comes on the heels of UNF receiving several other national designations, including The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2019 College Rankings, Forbes 2018 Best Value College, U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 “Best Online Programs,” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s “Best College Value of 2018,” 2018 “Best in the Southeast” by Princeton Review, 2018 “Best Regional” University by U.S. News & World Report, 2018 “Best Colleges” by College Factual, to name a few.

U.S. News & World Report is a multimedia publisher of news, consumer advice, rankings and analysis. Focusing on education, health, personal finance, travel, cars and news and opinion, usnews.com has earned a reputation as the leading provider of consumer advice and analysis that helps its readers make informed life decisions.