UCLA regains No. 1 spot in U.S. News & World Report public universities rankings – dailybruin.com

UCLA regains No. 1 spot in U.S. News & World Report public universities rankings  dailybruin.com

UCLA is once again the country’s No. 1 public university, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s annual university rankings released Monday. UCLA fell to the second-best public university last year after eight years at the top. A “No. 1 public university” banner is pictured. UCLA regained the number one public university ranking this year, tying with UC Berkeley, after losing the title last year, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual university rankings. (Crystal Tompkins/Daily Bruin senior staff) UCLA is once again the country’s No. 1 public university, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s annual university rankings released Monday.  UCLA fell to the second-best public university last year after eight years at the top.

UCLA tied with UC Berkeley for the number one spot this year.  [Related: UCLA loses No. 1 public university title in 2026 US News & World Report ranking] U.S. News & World Report releases annual rankings of the nation’s top universities based on criteria including graduation and retention rates, peer assessments, financial resources per student, faculty salaries and federal Pell Grant recipient performance.  UCLA lost the top spot last year after the Trump administration froze $584 million in the university’s federal research grants in July 2025.  The federal government froze the university’s grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science