UC Riverside made significant gains in the Washington Monthly 2025 college rankings , rising 20 positions among public universities, to No. 25, and climbing 29 places in the overall rankings, to No. 50.
UCR ranked No. 15 among 1,421 universities in the access category, which ranks colleges by how well they provide access to non-wealthy students. To determine the access ranking, Washington Monthly weighs two components: the number of Pell Grant recipients, and Pell enrollment performance. Pell grants are college assistance grants for low-income students. UCR ranked No. 12 nationally in Pell enrollment performance.
UCR Chancellor S. Jack Hu celebrated the rankings achievement, alluding to the reputation of Washington Monthly’s methodology.
“This tremendous ranking gain is a recognition of UCR’s long-standing commitment to access and excellence,” Hu said. “I am grateful to the faculty and staff for their dedication in providing our students with the tools for successful lives.”
Washington Monthly’s rankings methodology underwent a major shift this year. Past rankings afforded equal weight to social mobility, research, and service. The 2025 ranking considers four categories, including access, affordability, outcomes, and community and national service.
For the first time, Washington Monthly created a separate research ranking for the 139 U.S. universities that averaged more than $100 million in research expenditures over the past three years. UC Riverside placed No. 52 among that exclusive group.
The research ranking is based on four equally weighted indicators that include total research spending; science and engineering Ph.D.s awarded; faculty receiving major national awards, and the share of faculty elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
UCR ranked No. 41 among the 139 in the research subcategory of “faculty accolades.” That placed UCR above many top-ranked research universities including Texas A&M, Penn State, and Ohio State University. In 2023, UCR was invited to join a consortium of the nation’s top 71 research universities, the Association of American Universities.
UCR ranked well in several additional categories. It placed among the top universities in a subcategory of outcomes, ranking No. 303 among 1,423 in earnings nine years after graduation, with $55,174.
Washington Monthly collaborated with the nonprofit Excelencia in Education to compare Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs. In 2021, UCR was first granted the organization’s Seal of Excelencia, given to top HSIs. UCR was recertified in 2024. Of 615 HSIs in the U.S., 151 were considered for the rankings; UCR placed No. 32.
This is the second year first time the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification was included in rankings methodology. This classification rewards colleges that provide documentation of their institutional mission and broader public engagement. UCR achieved the classification for the first time in 2024 after an intensive application and review process.
As with most college rankings, Washington Monthly’s data is largely a curation of information from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, from the National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS is the product of an annual survey from every college, university, and technical or vocational institution. Institutions that received federal financial aid are compelled to participate.
