In its 2019 ranking of top national universities, Washington Monthly magazine has named UC Riverside No. 27 among all institutions, and No. 16 among public universities. UCR was No. 28 in 2018.

Washington Monthly also ranked UCR second best in the nation in how well its low-income students perform. UCR’s first-generation student performance is No. 14 on the list.

Both are measures in the category of “social mobility,” which holds one-third of the weight in Washington Monthly’s scoring system. Social mobility considers the degree to which students move out of the lowest income brackets.

“Starting many years ago, the Washington Monthly college rankings led the way in a reconsideration of what constitutes excellence in higher education,” said UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox. “It’s an affirmation for UCR that Washington Monthly continues to acknowledge our success, even as we make big gains in other top national rankings systems.”

The Washington Monthly accolade marks the second top national ranking for UCR in the past two weeks. On Aug. 12, Money magazine named UCR No. 12 among all U.S. universities—representing a leap of 20 positions from 2018’s No. 32 placement. This past year, UCR was the country’s fastest-rising university in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, moving up 39 positions.

The top five universities in the 2019 Washington Monthly ranking are, in order, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Yale, and Duke.

UCR’s six-year graduation rate for Pell Grant graduates most recently registered 75 percent — 25 percentage points higher than the national average. More than 50 percent of UCR’s students are Pell Grant recipients.

For the full rankings report, visit https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide.