photo by: Journal-World Staff

The University of Kansas on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026.

Updated at 4:14 p.m., Sept. 22, 2026

The University of Kansas held steady at No. 74 for the second straight year among public universities in the nation, but fell five spots among all universities in the latest rankings of “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report released Tuesday.

KU is now ranked at No. 148 among all universities in the U.S — both public and private. Though that’s a drop from last year’s ranking at No. 143, it is higher than two years ago, when KU was ranked No. 152.

At No. 74, KU is tied with four other public universities, including California State University in Los Angeles, the University of Kentucky, the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of Rhode Island.

KU also fell several spots among public schools in the “Best Value” category. KU was ranked at No. 40 in Tuesday’s rankings, which is a nine-spot drop from last year and a 15-spot drop from two years ago.

KU officials on Tuesday released the same statement they issued in the last couple of years when the rankings were published. Though Chancellor Douglas Girod this year added one new sentence.

“We recognize that some students and families look to these rankings when making their college decisions,” Girod said. “That said, we remain focused on our own measures of success, which align with the Kansas Board of Regents’ strategic plan, the needs of Kansas businesses and communities, and our aspirations as one of the nation’s leading research institutions. Our One KU initiative and Strategic Framework are helping us coordinate our work across KU and focus on priorities that matter most.” (The last sentence is this year’s new addition.)

The annual rankings of colleges and universities by the U.S. News & World Report are viewed by many — including students, parents and, perhaps especially, the universities themselves — as highly influential. But in recent years they have been subject to no small amount of controversy. In 2023, for example, the Harvard and Yale law schools pulled out of the media company’s law-school ranking after accusing it of focusing on metrics that may result in schools depriving prospective students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, from being admitted. The media company has since overhauled its methodology, in part to satisfy its critics.

Still, many look to the rankings each year when determining their future academic careers, and universities continue to tout the lists as an important metric.

With or without the rankings, KU continues to find success in attracting students. KU’s total enrollment has continued to grow over the last four years, and the same is expected this fall when it releases its data. Last fall, the university broke its overall enrollment record for the second straight year when a total 31,169 students attended the school, which is nearly 400 more than the previous year.

This year’s rankings keep KU at the No. 10 spot in the Big 12 Conference, the same as last year. Baylor University kept its top spot among the conference’s 16 members, while TCU climbed one spot ahead of the University of Colorado, and secured the second spot. Here’s a look at the national rankings for each school in the conference:

Baylor: No. 90, down 2 spots

TCU: No. 90, up 7 spots

University of Colorado: No. 109, down 12 spots

BYU: No. 116, down 6 spots

Iowa State: No. 116, up 1 spot

Arizona State: No. 121, down 4 spots

Central Florida: No. 121, down 4 spots

University of Arizona: No. 121, up 6 spots

Houston: No. 137, down 5 spots

KU: No. 148, down 5 spots

Kansas State: No. 156, up 2 spots

University of Utah: No. 179, down 28 spots

Cincinnati: No. 179, down 21 spots

Texas Tech: No. 186, up 12 spots

Oklahoma State: No. 191, up 7 spots

West Virginia: No. 227, down 5 spots

KU also was ranked at the same spot as it did last year among the Association of American Universities at No. 37, placing it one spot above the University of Utah. There are 38 public universities that are AAU members and 31 private. The top five spots remained unchanged. Here’s a look at the overall national rankings of the public schools in the AAU:

California-Berkeley: 20; UCLA: 20; Michigan: 25; Virginia: 26; North Carolina: 27; California-San Diego: 29; Georgia Tech: 29; Texas: 34; Florida: 34; California-Davis: 34; California-Irvine: 34; Illinois: 34; Wisconsin: 34; California-Santa Barbara: 44; Ohio State: 44; Rutgers: 44; Maryland: 49; Washington: 49; Purdue: 55; Penn State: 55; Texas A&M: 59; Minnesota: 59; Stony Brook: 59; Pitt: 59; Michigan State: 69; Indiana: 73; California-Riverside: 80; Buffalo: 85; Missouri: 95; South Florida: 100; Iowa: 100; California-Santa Cruz: 109; Colorado: 109; Oregon: 116; Arizona State: 121; Arizona: 121; KU: 148; Utah: 179.

Several of KU’s undergraduate programs were also ranked in or near the top 50 in Tuesday’s U.S. News & World Report rankings among public universities. They include:

Nursing: No. 14, up 11 spots from a year ago

Psychology: No. 37, down 6 spots from a year ago

Business: No. 44, down 4 spots from a year ago

Engineering: No. 52, unchanged from a year ago

KU also had eight graduate programs in the top 10 and 55 programs in the top 50 among public universities in the most recent edition of the U.S. News & World Report’s graduate school rankings, which were released earlier this year.