The University of Arizona made one of the nation's biggest jumps in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges ranking, released today.

UArizona is ranked No. 97 overall – up 20 spots from last year's ranking – and No. 40 among public universities. It is the university's first appearance in the top 100 since 2009 and its overall score of 61 marks an all-time high for UArizona in these rankings. The 20-spot increase is the ninth-highest jump among all higher education institutions ranked in the top 200 and sixth highest among public universities.

"We are thrilled to see our university make such incredible gains in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings," said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins. "Our university has remained unwavering in its focus on providing a world-class education during this unprecedented time in our nation's history."

UArizona also saw improvements in its rankings for its undergraduate business (No. 32) and engineering (No. 53) programs, along with a 17-spot increase in the ranking's Best Colleges for Veterans list (No. 63). The university maintained its excellent position for its undergraduate program for management information systems (No. 4 overall, No. 2 public), along with strong marks in entrepreneurship (No. 23), marketing (No. 24), management (No. 29) and accounting (No. 38).

On the publication's annual Best Graduate Schools list, released March 17, U.S. News ranked the Eller College of Management's management information systems program No. 1 among public universities and No. 3 overall. UArizona also earned top-10 placements in photography (tied for No. 3 overall, No. 2 among public universities), speech language pathology (tied for No. 6 overall, No. 3 public) and audiology (tied for No. 10 overall, No. 6 public).

Each year, U.S. News also releases a Best Value ranking, which takes into account a school's academic quality, as indicated by its 2021 ranking, and the 2019-2020 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. UArizona jumped 14 spots in this ranking, rising to No. 121.

Other recent rankings include:

• Money Magazine recognized the value of a UArizona education, ranking the university No. 98 on its annual Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value list, released Aug. 25. UArizona catapulted 72 spots from its mark of 170 in last year's list.
• In Times Higher Education's annual World University Rankings, released Sept. 2, UArizona placed No. 124 out of more than 1,500 higher education institutions across 93 countries.
• The University of Arizona has earned a place in The Princeton Review's "The Best 386 Colleges: 2021 Edition" in August, receiving top scores in sustainability (95 out of a possible 100) and quality of life (87). The university also scored well in the areas of financial aid (83) and fire safety (91).

U.S. News & World Report ranks colleges and universities based on 16 measures of academic quality. The measures considered for national universities include graduation and retention rates, assessment by peers and counselors, faculty resources (such as class size, benefits and salaries), student selectivity, financial resources for students, alumni giving, and graduation rate performance, which is the difference between actual and predicted graduation rates.

(Editor's note: Not all academic programs are ranked annually by U.S. News & World Report. All of the above rankings, however, are newly released. U.S. News & World Report also releases rankings of best online programs, best global universities and top graduate programs. For questions regarding the rankings of specific programs and departments, email official@usnews.com.)