Top Public Schools

National Universities

Public colleges and universities typically operate under the supervision of state governments and are funded, in part, by tax dollars and subsidies from the state. As a result, these universities often offer discounted tuition to residents of their states. Public schools run the gamut from small liberal arts colleges to large research institutions. These are the highest-ranked public colleges and universities in the 2016 Best Colleges rankings, listed according to their ranking category.

See the Top Public Schools Methodology »
Rank School
#1
Overall Score:
University of California—​Berkeley 

Berkeley, CA

#2
Overall Score:
University of California—​Los Angeles 

Los Angeles, CA

#3
Overall Score:
University of Virginia 

Charlottesville, VA

#4
Overall Score:
University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor 

Ann Arbor, MI

#5
Overall Score:
University of North Carolina—​Chapel Hill 

Chapel Hill, NC

#6
Overall Score:
College of William and Mary 

Williamsburg, VA

#7
Overall Score:
Georgia Institute of Technology 

Atlanta, GA

#8
Overall Score:
University of California—​Santa Barbara 

Santa Barbara, CA

#9Tie
Overall Score:
University of California—​Irvine 

Irvine, CA

#9Tie
Overall Score:
University of California—​San Diego 

La Jolla, CA

#11Tie
Overall Score:
University of California—​Davis 

Davis, CA

#11Tie
Overall Score:
University of Illinois—​Urbana-​Champaign 

Champaign, IL

#11Tie
Overall Score:
University of Wisconsin—​Madison 

Madison, WI

#14Tie
Overall Score:
Pennsylvania State University—​University Park 

University Park, PA

#14Tie
Overall Score:
University of Florida 

Gainesville, FL

#16Tie
Overall Score:
Ohio State University—​Columbus 

Columbus, OH

#16Tie
Overall Score:
University of Texas—​Austin 

Austin, TX

#16Tie
Overall Score:
University of Washington 

Seattle, WA

#19Tie
Overall Score:
University of Connecticut 

Storrs, CT

#19Tie
Overall Score:
University of Maryland—​College Park 

College Park, MD

#21Tie
Overall Score:
Clemson University 

Clemson, SC

#21Tie
Overall Score:
Purdue University—​West Lafayette 

West Lafayette, IN

#21Tie
Overall Score:
University of Georgia 

Athens, GA

#24
Overall Score:
University of Pittsburgh 

Pittsburgh, PA

#25
Overall Score:
University of Minnesota—​Twin Cities 

Minneapolis, MN

1 2 3 .. 5Next »

Corrected 9/11/2015: Three universities were incorrectly ranked at No. 47 at the initial online publication of the rankings.

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