U.S. News & World Report Reveals 2023 Rankings

The University of Denver is ranked among the country’s top colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Today, the publication released its 2023 list of the nation’s Best Colleges, with DU ranking 105th on the National Universities list, out of 440 institutions.

To determine rankings, U.S. News & World Report uses 17 measures of academic quality across six categories: outcomes, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence and alumni giving. U.S. News surveyed schools in the spring and summer of 2022. Some information is for the current 2022–23 academic year, but the ranking factors themselves are snapshots of the recent past, reflecting fall 2021 and earlier.

The University of Denver’s overall score is 60, and the University received a peer assessment score of 3.1. We can be proud of the metrics that underlie this score. DU ranked 79th in student selectivity, 85th in financial resources and our ranking graduation and retention was above our peers who were clustered at 105. These indicate exceptional performance in many of the metrics that we hold central to our mission and vision.

“It is always an honor to be ranked among the top colleges in the country, especially when so many institutions are evaluated for these rankings,” says DU Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “Much of our success is owed to our faculty. Their dedication to student success and impactful research is the reason we achieved R1 status last year, joining the prestigious list of U.S. institutions conducting the highest level of research.”

In addition to the overall rankings, the University of Denver placed in the top 100 in several other categories. DU ranks 74th among Best Value Schools. This category takes into consideration a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student receiving need-based scholarships or grants. At DU, 41% of students receive need-based aid.

Overall rankings are based on several factors, with 40% of a school’s performance determined by its “outcomes” score. This considers, among other categories, success in retaining and graduating students in six years, graduate indebtedness, and social mobility. Faculty resources comprise 20% of the overall ranking. This category considers class size, faculty salary, faculty with the highest degree in their fields and proportion of faculty who are full time. The category of expert opinion, which also counts for 20% of the ranking, is determined entirely by the peer assessment score.

Student excellence, which accounts for 7% of a school’s ranking, is determined by high school class standings and standardized tests of incoming students. DU ranked No. 79 in this area. In the category of financial resources, the University ranked No. 85. Accounting for 10% of the overall ranking, this factors the average spending per student on instruction, research, student services and related education expenditures.

U.S. News & World Report ranked the Daniels College of Business 86th on the list of Best Undergraduate Business Programs. This ranking is based on program accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; the results are based solely on surveys of business school deans and senior faculty.

To see the complete rankings by U.S. News & World Report, please click here.