UConn is again being lauded for its quality and value, with several recent rankings giving it high marks in their annual assessments of student success, access and affordability, return on investment, and other factors.
In addition, UConn’s global visibility jumped significantly over the past year, quantified in a ranking that found notable increases in website visitors, mainstream media mentions, social media followers, and online video viewership.
The rankings are the latest in a series of assessments which originate from unrelated entities, but reach the same positive conclusions about UConn’s academic strength, lasting impacts on students, and global reputation.
The rankings are valuable not only to help potential students and their families as they select where to apply, but also for UConn’s 300,000 alumni whose degrees continue to gain prestige as the University’s reputation grows.
UConn is increasingly getting noticed worldwide, according to the 2026-27 Global University Visibility (GUV) Rankings. Those rankings, compiled by higher ed market research firm American Caldwell, placed UConn at No. 83 in global visibility – up 48 spots in the past year – out of more than 1,200 institutions in 193 countries.
The rankings use objective measures to determine the “reach” of a university’s brand and reputation around the globe: numbers of website visitors, news mentions, public interest and online engagement, social media reach, YouTube viewership, and related factors.
The GUV ranking, when combined with assessments of research and academic performance, help to provide a holistic view of growing interest in UConn that helps drive student applications, faculty recruiting, philanthropy, and public engagement.
Time magazine also recently released new rankings, compiled in conjunction with Statista and released in August, that place UConn at No. 57 nationwide among the 500 institutions that rose to inclusion in its list.
When filtered to only compare against other public colleges and universities, UConn ranked No. 19 – comfortably ahead of most of those against whom it competes for student enrollment and faculty hires.
UConn performed particularly well in Time’s ranking this year in student outcomes, as measured through graduates’ earnings, graduation rates, and return on investment (ROI).
Those factors are areas of strategic focus for the University, which has positioned its academic support programs, financial aid, and career services to maximize the student success journey.
In fact, surveys of graduates who received their degrees in December 2024 and May 2025 showed them earning an average starting salary of $67,500, according to the most recent annual Undergraduate First Destination report.
That’s an increase of about $7,500 over two years earlier, despite the tightening national job market. In high-demand fields such as nursing and engineering, some entered their first jobs right out of UConn earning more than $80,000 yearly.
UConn’s return on investment and value for families also helped it earn strong showings in recent rankings by Money magazine, which included UConn among its America’s Best Colleges for 2026 ranking with 4.5 out of 5 stars.
As with the Time ranking, Money’s analysis gives significant weight to affordability, graduation rates, alumni earnings, and related factors that help to quantify ROI. Based on those indicators, it lists UConn among the best public institutions nationwide that provide excellent value for students in their home states.
Forbes also came to similar conclusions about UConn’s quality: It recently ranked UConn as No. 38 among public institutions in the United States, and No. 99 among the 500 public and private entities it assessed. It also included UConn among the top 10 employers in Connecticut.
In the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings released Tuesday, UConn showed particular strength in graduation rate and retention of first-year students, both of which are key indicators of a strong holistic learning environment.
Currently, 91% of first-year UConn students return for their freshman year, and 83% graduate in six years or less. By comparison, about 69% of first-year students nationwide return in their second year to the institution where they started, and about 61% earn their degrees in six years or less.
Overall, the U.S. News rankings released Tuesday place UConn at No. 32 nationwide among public institutions, the same position as last year. Its learning communities program ranked No. 24 nationwide, recognizing the strength of that initiative to help students transition to a university setting by connecting them with faculty, staff, and student leaders of various affinities and identities.
The recent rankings are among many positive assessments of UConn over the past year, including:
• Several of UConn’s graduate and professional programs earned high marks from U.S. News & World Report, along with a separate but related ranking that gave stellar assessments for fully online graduate programs offered by the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing, the School of Business, and others.
• UConn saw a notable increase in its reputation as an entrepreneurship academic powerhouse, as reflected in rankings by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur. The results were based on 40 data points including academic offerings, faculty credentials, experiential learning, mentorship, and more.
UConn’s overall ranking was No. 29 for graduates, up from No. 34 in the previous year; and No. 31 for undergraduates, up from No. 45. The rankings primarily included U.S. colleges and universities, but some international schools were also included.
• For five years in a row, UConn is one of the top 10 most sustainable universities in the world, as assessed by UI GreenMetric in its ranking of more than 1,700 institutions in 105 countries on their sustainability performance. UConn ranks at No. 8, two spots higher than its previous 10th place ranking.
• UConn John Dempsey Hospital is a World’s Best Hospital for the fifth year in a row, receiving the prestigious designation from Newsweek and Statista based on their assessments of quality metrics, recommendations from medical experts, and results from patient surveys. It also was specifically recognized for excellence in infection prevention and patient experience.
• Newsweek also named UConn John Dempsey Hospital among the nation’s best maternity hospitals, making it the only hospital in Hartford County to earn the publication’s highest honor of five ribbons. The recognition highlights hospitals that excel in providing high-quality care for mothers and babies, including patient experience, safety measures, and clinical outcomes.
