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The University of Massachusetts Amherst moved up five spots to No. 24 nationally on U.S. News & World Report’s Top Public Universities 2027 and is the only public institution in New England to place in the Top 30. For the past 13 years, UMass Amherst has been ranked as a Top 30 public university.

UMass Amherst is in a six-way tie for the No. 24 spot with Texas A&M, Florida State, Stony Brook University, University of Pittsburgh and University of Minnesota Twin Cities. 

“This ranking reflects confidence in our students, faculty and staff—and the power and promise of a UMass education,” said UMass Amherst Chancellor Javier A. Reyes. “UMass is committed to its mission of excellence in teaching, research and service for the common good.”

Among all national universities, public and private, UMass Amherst placed at No. 59 out of the 422 universities ranked, placing it in the top 14% nationally. It joins only seven other Massachusetts universities in the Top 70. Among the 17 Massachusetts colleges ranked, UMass is the eighth highest.

UMass Amherst continues to lead among public universities in the computer science space, placing at No. 11 for Artificial Intelligence and climbing four spots to No. 12 for Best Computer Science Programs.

In other individual program rankings for public schools, UMass Amherst rose four spots to No. 36 for Best Business Programs and increased three spots to No. 34 among Best Colleges for Veterans.

In the rankings for Best Value for In-State Students, a new category for 2027, UMass Amherst ranks at No. 31.

At the start of the 2026-27 academic year, the university welcomed approximately 5,300 first-year students, 1,100 transfer students and 1,800 graduate students. The Class of 2030 was selected from more than 50,000 applications, who boasted a grade point average of 4.03, maintaining a trend of an average GPA of 4.0 or higher since 2021.

U.S. News & World Report publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with the comparative merits of the undergraduate programs at America’s colleges and universities. The rankings, which date back to 1983, offer detailed information about institutions and data on factors such as graduation rates and postgraduate earnings.

More information about this year’s ranking methodology can be found here.