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

Utah State University

2016 University Academic Rankings

The Utah State University (USU) is a public research university in Logan, Utah. Founded in 1888 as Utah's agricultural college, USU focused on agriculture, domestic arts, and mechanic arts. The university now offers programs in liberal arts, engineering, business, economics, natural resource sciences, as well as nationally ranked elementary & secondary education programs. The university has eight colleges and offers a total of 176 bachelor's degrees, 97 master's degrees, and 38 doctoral degrees. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

USU's main campus is located in Logan with regional campuses in Brigham City, Tooele, and the Uintah Basin. In 2010, the College of Eastern Utah, located in Price, Utah joined the USU system becoming Utah State University College of Eastern Utah (USU Eastern). Throughout Utah, USU operates more than 20 distance education centers. Regional campuses, USU Eastern, and distance education centers provide degrees to more than 40% of the students enrolled. In total, USU has more than 180,000 alumni in all 50 states and more than 100 countries.

USU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Utah State Aggies. They are members of the Mountain West Conference.

History | Background and founding

On December 16, 1861, Justin Morrill (VT) introduced a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives, "to establish at least one college in each state upon a sure and perpetual foundation, accessible to all, but especially to the sons of toil..." President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act into effect in July of the following year.

Old Main, the agricultural college's now-iconic first building, now houses administrative offices, the department of Computer Science, and much of the College of HaSS

Meanwhile, after visiting a few rural agricultural schools in his native Denmark, Anthon H. Lund of the Utah Territorial Legislature decided that there existed in Utah a need for such a school fusing the highest in scientific and academic research with agriculture, the way of life for the vast majority of locals. Upon returning to the states, Lund heard about the Morrill Act, and pitched a vision for the college that would receive widespread support among the Territorial Legislature, who was at the time seeking to reapply for statehood. Now there came the question of location. According to historian Joel Ricks in 1938, "Provo had received the Insane Asylum, Salt Lake City had the University and Capitol, and the majority of the legislature felt that the new institutions should be given to Weber and Cache Counties." Citizens in Logan, Cache County, banded together and successfully lobbied representatives for the honor. The bill to establish the Agricultural College of Utah was passed on March 8, 1888, and on September 2, 1890, 14-year-old Miss Vendla Berntson enrolled as its first student.

Consolidation controversies

In its early years, the college narrowly dodged two major campaigns to consolidate its operations with the University of Utah. Much controversy arose in response to President William J. Kerr's expansion of the college's scope beyond its agricultural roots. Detractors in Salt Lake City feared that such an expansion would come at the expense of the University of Utah, and pushed consolidation as a counter.

In 1907, an agreement was struck to instead limit the curricula of the Agricultural College strictly to agriculture, domestic science, and mechanic arts. This meant closing all departments in Logan, including the already-impressive music department, which did not fall under that umbrella. Consequently, the University of Utah became solely responsible, for a time, for courses in engineering, law, medicine, fine arts, and pedagogy, despite the ... [more on wikipedia]

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

Utah State University Details

Utah State University Details
detail value
stateUtah
conferenceMountain West Conference
publicPublic
scores1650/1100/25
levelAboveAverage
rank[165
overall ROI rank[120
sizemedium-large
undergrads24271
grads3391
price30100
drop40
stem17
research160
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for Utah State University?

1. number 165 for Academics.

2. number 120 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to Utah State University?

1. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2. University of Delaware

3. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

4. University of Kentucky

5. University of Arkansas

6. The University of Tennessee-Knoxville

7. University of Oregon



National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

Utah State University National Academic Rankings

Utah State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Top250165226244138126859879120
Div1839096827853694472
Div1 Nonivy768794777345614265
Div1 Public586291595835533747
Public848797716546633867
Mountain West Conference248431331
Mountain West Region41016331494
State of Utah344331233
Top Ten Top250165226244138126859879120
Top Ten Mountain West Conference348431331
Top Ten Mountain West Region489331464
Top Ten State of Utah344331233


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

Utah State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Utah State University

Utah State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to Utah State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.82
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
98.54
University of DelawareDelawareColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage107138
92.99
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLouisianaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage14888
92.77
University of KentuckyKentuckySoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage159130
92.66
University of ArkansasArkansasSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage171119
92.62
The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleTennesseeSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage116188
92.31
University of OregonOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage174221
91.98
University of KansasKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage172130
91.83
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
86.66
University of CincinnatiOhioAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage202106
86.56
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
86.51
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaSouth CarolinaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage93130
86.50
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage178207
86.41
Northern Arizona UniversityArizonaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage336333
86.14
University of IowaIowaBig Ten ConferencePublicGood6879
86.14
George Mason UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage156143
86.11
University of Massachusetts-AmherstMassachusettsMid - American Conference / At...PublicAboveAverage88144
86.02
University of GeorgiaGeorgiaSoutheastern ConferencePublicGood8265
85.94
Grand Valley State UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAverage247239
85.85
University of Missouri-ColumbiaMissouriSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage12198
85.72
Temple UniversityPennsylvaniaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage168199
85.70
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
85.57
Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeConference USAPublicAverage384372
85.56
University of California-Santa BarbaraCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicGood63122
85.53
Old Dominion UniversityVirginiaConference USAPublicAverage356368
85.44
University of North TexasTexasConference USAPublicAboveAverage192165
85.17
Towson UniversityMarylandColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAverage264365
85.09
Missouri State University-SpringfieldMissouriMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage301266
85.04
Eastern Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicAverage445385
85.03
Texas State UniversityTexasSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage364290
84.99
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage279222
84.95
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
84.91
Florida State UniversityFloridaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage76104
84.69
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
84.65
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
84.64
CUNY Hunter CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage193228
84.62
Sam Houston State UniversityTexasSouthland ConferencePublicAverage472383
84.08
CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage135182
83.73
University of Rhode IslandRhode IslandColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage270328
83.52
University of New HampshireNew HampshireColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage221225
83.40
Saint Louis UniversityMissouriAtlantic 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage169165
83.40
University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPuerto RicoIndependent Southeast RegionPublicAboveAverage176232
83.02
University of VermontVermontAmerica EastPublicAboveAverage136191
81.88
University of San FranciscoCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage226241
81.70
Loyola Marymount UniversityCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage218233
81.69
University of St ThomasMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage238156
81.39
Adelphi UniversityNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365444
81.33
Gonzaga UniversityWashingtonWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage235214
81.22
Seattle UniversityWashingtonWestern Athletic ConferencePrivateAboveAverage280320
81.12
Creighton UniversityNebraskaBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage273190


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

Utah State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Utah State University

Utah State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to Utah State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
97.46
Texas Tech UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage176104
97.08
Oklahoma State UniversityOklahomaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage182124
96.46
Florida International UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage163170
96.00
University of OregonOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAboveAverage174221
95.80
New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew JerseyIndependent Northeast RegionPublicAboveAverage195185
95.51
Temple UniversityPennsylvaniaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage168199
95.46
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
95.39
Oregon State UniversityOregonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage152202
95.38
Syracuse UniversityNew YorkAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage172216
95.10
University of KentuckyKentuckySoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage159130
95.03
Conference USA (Average)-Conference USA-Conf-AboveAverage-148
95.00
University of KansasKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage172130
94.51
University of ArkansasArkansasSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage171119
94.46
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
94.35
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLouisianaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage14888
93.38
SUNY College of Environmental Science and ForestryNew YorkNo Conference AffiliationPublicAboveAverage229244
92.38
CUNY Hunter CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage193228
91.93
George Mason UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage156143
91.22
Texas Christian UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePrivateAboveAverage214181
90.77
University of Michigan-FlintMichiganNo Conference AffiliationPublicAboveAverage189264
90.51
University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPuerto RicoIndependent Southeast RegionPublicAboveAverage176232
88.80
Washington State UniversityWashingtonPacific 12 ConferencePublicAverage189193
88.44
Saint Louis UniversityMissouriAtlantic 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage169165
87.39
The College of New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicGood164193
86.82
Emerson CollegeMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateGood207240
82.27
Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyIndianaHeartland Collegiate Athletic ...PrivateExcellent15960
82.07
Lafayette CollegePennsylvaniaPatriot LeaguePrivateExcellent165106
80.37
Union CollegeKentuckyMid - South Conference / Appal...PrivateBelowAverage162178