The latest “Best College” rankings from the U.S. News & World Report continue UNC’s streak of top 5 finishes among public universities.

The flagship university of the UNC System is rated No. 5 in the publication’s 2025 list, which was shared on Tuesday morning, marking 23 consecutive years of Carolina being in the top 5. The Chapel Hill campus was also given top marks for the best value among public universities for the 20th consecutive year.

“We have a remarkable story to share about our affordability and value. For each year of the past two decades, U.S. News and World Report has named Carolina the best value among public institutions,” UNC Chancellor Lee H. Roberts said in a release. “This accolade is largely due to the sustained, bipartisan dedication of our state’s citizens to keeping exceptional education affordable and accessible. As one of the top five public universities in the nation, Carolina boasts world-class faculty, committed staff and outstanding students who can look forward to excellence in teaching, research and service to our community, state and beyond.”

U.S. News gathers details and publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year as a resources for prospective students and families to compare the aspects of different undergraduate programs across the country. The rankings’ methodology uses a variety of data points, but more than half of each school’s ranking is made up of “outcome measures related to how successful an institution is at enrolling and graduating students from different backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduation success,” according to the publication.

While the top 5 streak continued, Carolina’s 2025 ranking does represent a one-spot drop compared to last year’s ranking, and a five-spot slide in the overall rankings. This year, the U.S. News & World Report placed UNC at No. 27 in a tie with the University of Southern California compared to last year’s tie with Georgetown at No. 22. The public universities that hold higher rankings than UNC are UCLA, California-Berkley, Michigan and Virginia. Carolina’s “Best Value” ranking among both public and private institutions remained at No. 14 nationally.

Among the other college rankings shared Tuesday, UNC saw several undergraduate programs earn high marks. Carolina is ranked No. 4 among universities that award bachelor’s degrees for nursing, and the undergraduate business program tied for sixth among schools. UNC also ranked No. 6 in management, No. 7 in marketing, No. 9 in finance, and was tied for ninth in the Best Colleges for Veterans list.

Earlier in the calendar year, The Princeton Review named UNC the fourth “Best Value” public university in the country and Forbes named UNC to a list of 10 “New Ivies” that hold the prestige of an Ivy League institution.

The full 2025 Best Colleges Rankings from the U.S. News & World Report can be found here.

 

Photo via UNC-Chapel Hill/Johnny Andrews.

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