University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

University of Rhode Island

2016 University Academic Rankings
The University of Rhode Island, commonly referred to as URI, is the principal public research as well as the land grant and sea grant university for the state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in the village of Kingston in southern Rhode Island. Additionally, smaller campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich.

The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in 80 undergraduate and 49 graduate areas of study through seven academic colleges. These colleges include Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Human Science and Services, Environment and Life Sciences, Nursing and Pharmacy. Another college, University College (UC) serves primarily as an advising college for all incoming undergraduates and follows them through their enrollment at URI.

The University enrolled about 13,600 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students in Fall 2015. U.S. News & World Report classifies URI as a tier 1 national university, ranking it tied for 161st in the U.S.

History

The University was first chartered as the state's agricultural school and agricultural experiment station in 1888. The site of the school was originally the Oliver Watson Farm, whose original farmhouse is now a small museum. In 1892, the school became known as the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The first class had only seventeen students, each completing their course of study in two years. In 1909, the school's name was again changed to Rhode Island State College as the school's programs were expanded beyond its original agricultural education mandate. In 1951 the school was given its current title through an act of the General Assembly following the addition of the College of Arts and Sciences and the offering of doctoral degrees. The Board of Governors for Higher Education, appointed by the governor, became the governing body of the University in 1981 during the presidency of Frank Newman (1974-1983). The Board of Governors was replaced by the Rhode Island Board of Education in 2013. The current president is David M. Dooley.

Academics

Located in a traditional New England college town, URI offers students a land, sea and urban experience. Students can choose from about 80 majors within seven different colleges. Among the most popular majors at URI are Nursing, Communication Studies, Psychology, Kinesiology and Human Development & Family Studies. URI is well known for its nursing and engineering programs, the latter of which includes the internationally recognized International Engineering Program, and a robotic competition delegation that has continuously placed within the top 5 competing schools. The University also boasts nationally ranked programs in Pharmacy, Landscape Architecture, and Oceanography.

The University of Rhode Island Department of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics has been ranked the fourth most productive research department in the country in the field of agricultural economics by the 2005 Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index. Only Colorado State University, Iowa State University and the University of California at Berkeley ranked ahead of URI. Of the top 10 universities in the field, URI's program has the fewest faculty members with 10.The URI program was the first in the nation to offer a graduate degree in natural resource economics (in 1969), and the department publishes an internationally recognized research journal, Marine Resource Economics. Agricultural and natural resource economists study the interactions between economic and natural systems, with the goal of developing a sustainable and efficient economy. Faculty in the URI department focus on issues related to the spectrum of natural resource and environmental management, w ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "University of Rhode Island", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

University of Rhode Island Details

University of Rhode Island Details
detail value
stateRhode Island
conferenceColonial Athletic Association ...
publicPublic
scores1600/1067/24
levelAverage
rank[270
overall ROI rank[328
sizemedium
undergrads13589
grads2982
price43075
drop35
stem19
research102
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for University of Rhode Island?

1. number 270 for Academics.

2. number 328 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to University of Rhode Island?

1. University of North Dakota

2. University of Nevada-Reno

3. University of California-Riverside

4. Bowling Green State University

5. SUNY at Albany

6. University of New Hampshire

7. University of Nebraska at Omaha


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

University of Rhode Island National Academic Rankings

University of Rhode Island National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Atlantic 10 Conference1013989561011
Colonial Athletic Association1616151614861416
New England Region959995798647417191
State of Rhode Island264222232
Top Ten Atlantic 10 Conference10109895569
Top Ten State of Rhode Island264222232


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

University of Rhode Island Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Rhode Island
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.99
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
98.71
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
98.15
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
93.09
Bowling Green State UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage442351
93.01
SUNY at AlbanyNew YorkColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage188218
92.96
University of New HampshireNew HampshireColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage221225
92.66
University of Nebraska at OmahaNebraskaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage491364
92.48
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage350248
92.41
CUNY Queens CollegeNew YorkEast Coast ConferencePublicAverage307400
92.40
The University of MontanaMontanaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage372232
92.34
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
92.05
Sam Houston State UniversityTexasSouthland ConferencePublicAverage472383
92.03
South Dakota State UniversitySouth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage354263
92.02
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
91.97
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
91.70
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
91.66
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage279222
91.61
Eastern Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicAverage445385
91.48
Towson UniversityMarylandColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAverage264365
91.45
University of DelawareDelawareColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage107138
91.39
University of Colorado Colorado SpringsColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePublicAverage451347
91.35
Boise State UniversityIdahoMountain West ConferencePublicAverage389329
91.26
University of Akron Main CampusOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage331251
91.14
Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeConference USAPublicAverage384372
86.10
CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage135182
86.06
University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPuerto RicoIndependent Southeast RegionPublicAboveAverage176232
85.70
Montclair State UniversityNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicBelowAverage447463
85.57
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
85.48
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
85.25
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
85.19
Western Kentucky UniversityKentuckyConference USAPublicBelowAverage491433
85.06
The University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaTennesseeSouthern ConferencePublicAverage434464
85.00
University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage350253
84.82
University of Wisconsin-La CrosseWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage302258
84.68
University of KansasKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage172130
84.53
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
84.50
Old Dominion UniversityVirginiaConference USAPublicAverage356368
84.32
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
84.27
Pace University-New YorkNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAverage476465
84.18
University of DaytonOhioPioneer Football League / Atla...PrivateAboveAverage278138
84.15
University of ArkansasArkansasSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage171119
84.02
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
83.88
Northern Arizona UniversityArizonaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage336333
83.84
Kennesaw State UniversityGeorgiaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAverage290291
83.73
Utah State UniversityUtahMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage165120
83.63
Rutgers University-NewarkNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAverage371392
83.44
Howard UniversityWashington DCMid Eastern Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage343429
82.34
Michigan State UniversityMichiganBig Ten ConferencePublicAverage11174
81.38
Maryville University of Saint LouisMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePrivateAverage424426
79.73
Western Washington UniversityWashingtonGreat Northwest Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage297338


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

University of Rhode Island Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Rhode Island
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.38
Grand Valley State UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAverage247239
95.69
University of MaineMaineAtlantic 10 Conference / Ameri...PublicAverage248245
93.38
Great Lakes Valley Conference (Average)-Great Lakes Valley Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-227
92.24
Southern Polytechnic State UniversityGeorgiaNo Conference AffiliationPublicAboveAverage267128
90.22
Christopher Newport UniversityVirginiaUSA South Athletic Conference ...PublicAboveAverage268320
88.95
Creighton UniversityNebraskaBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage273190
86.06
Beloit CollegeWisconsinMidwest ConferencePrivateGood250233
84.86
Centre CollegeKentuckySouthern Athletic AssociationPrivateGood244198