The University of Massachusetts Amherst ranks 29^th among the nation’s best public universities in the 2026 Best Colleges rankings published Sept. 23 by U.S. News & World Report.  

This is the 11^th straight year that UMass Amherst has been ranked as a top public university, and is the only public university in Massachusetts and New England to place in the top 30.  

UMass Amherst placed No. 64 overall among all 434 national universities, both public and private, placing in the top 15% nationally. UMass stands alone as the only public university in New England to place in the top 65.  

The UMass Amherst undergraduate psychology program, housed in the College of Natural Sciences, climbed significantly to No. 33, up nine spots from last year, out of a total of 682 institutions. The UMass Amherst psychology program is also the only Massachusetts public university to rank in the top 35 and ranks second in the state. 

The UMass Amherst computer science program ranks No. 35 out of 601 schools, one of only three Massachusetts institutions (and the only public university) to place in the top 40.  

Among 174 institutions nationally, UMass Amherst also places on the Best for Veterans list at No. 37 and is the only Massachusetts institution in the top 100.  

UMass Amherst’s undergraduate business program ranked No. 64, up one from last year, while engineering remained steady at No. 57.  

For the 41^st annual edition of Best Colleges, U.S. News rankings were based on a variety of weighted factors. All schools in the National Universities category offer a range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates. Academic programs are ranked based on peer assessment scores and include both public and private institutions. More information about methodology can be found here.