Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia is tied for 18th among public universities-up from 21st in 2010-and tied for 56th overall-up from 58th-according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges.
UGA also was listed among 25 national universities with the least debt for 2009 graduates.
“This increase in ranking is attributable to two things: One, the terrific effort by the faculty and staff during times of economic distress; and two, the decisions we have collectively made to invest every available dollar in academic programs and specifically faculty,” said UGA President Michael F. Adams.
The undergraduate program in the Terry College of Business is ranked 28th overall and 16th among public business schools. This year’s ranking marks the 12th consecutive year Terry has been ranked in the top 30. Terry placed two “business specialties” in the top five nationally. Its risk management and insurance program ranked second, and its real estate program ranked fourth.
“The consistency of our placement in the U.S. News ranking is a direct reflection of the quality of students and faculty at the Terry College of Business,” said Dean Robert Sumichrast. “We’re taking another important step to raise the rigor and standards of our undergraduate curriculum this fall, with the adoption of our Foundations First cohort class schedule for juniors starting a business major.”
The 2011 rankings are available on-line at www.usnews.com and highlights of the college rankings will be published in the September issue of U.S News & World Report, available for newsstand purchase Aug. 31. The U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges guidebook will be available Aug. 24.
U.S. News considers several factors in producing the annual ranking. Among those are graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and peer assessment.