University Of Alabama Climbs In U.S News College Rankings

The University of Alabama has moved up two spots in the U.S. News and World Report's Best Colleges 2026 ranking. The Capstone is now placed overall at 169th out of 436 national universities in the study.

A breakdown in programs at UA shows the Tuscaloosa campus in the top 25 for nursing at 22nd, 92nd in top public schools, 112th in economics, 122nd in best colleges for veterans, 154th in best value schools, 86th in best undergraduate engineering program and 426th top performers in social mobility.

In student outcomes rankings UA sits at 73% for the school's average 6-year graduation rate, 63% graduate rate for students with Pell Grants and 76% for students without a Pell Grant.

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Graduate school rankings are all 158th or better. Law Schools with the most graduates in federal clerkships ranks highest at 11th.

In online programs, UA falls within the top 31 for all online programs:

• The Online Master's in Nursing for Veterans ranks 2nd,
• The online Bachelor's in Business Programs is 5th,
• Online Masters in Nursing Programs is 6th, and
• The online Masters in Nursing Administration Programs and online Masters in Nursing Education Programs are each rated 6th.

Bama 3rd Best in State

Alabama is rated by the annual U.S. News survey as the third best national university in the state. Auburn tops, moving up three spots from 2025, at 102nd in the nation, followed by the University of Alabama Birmingham third at 132nd (up four slots from last year's rankings).

Auburn has made a concerted effort to improve its national ratings and that has resulted in a 25% enrollment increase on the plains. Bama has its highest enrollment ever at more than 43,000 students.

Other universities from the State of Alabama listed in the study are:

• No. 179: Samford University, down eight spots from last year,
• No. 242: University of Alabama at Huntsville, up two spots from last year
• No. 363: University of South Alabama, up eight spots from last year.

Vandy is Tops in Southeastern Conference Schools

As might be expected, Vanderbilt has the highest rating for Southeastern Conference member institutions at 17th. The Nashville campus of just over 7,000 students also has the lowest acceptance rate of all schools ranked at #6.

• Florida and Texas are tied at 30th,
• Georgia is 46th,
• Texas A&M 51st,
• Missouri, Auburn and Tennessee tied at 102nd,
• Oklahoma 110,
• South Carolina 127th,
• Kentucky 143rd,
• Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss tied at169th,
• Arkansas 183rd,
• Mississippi State 208th.Northeastern Schools are Tops

Princeton, MIT and Harvard at 1,2, and 3 in the national rankings.