U.S. News & World Report has again named UC Riverside the No. 1 university in the nation for social mobility. This is the seventh year that U.S. News has featured a breakout category for social mobility. UCR has been ranked No. 1 for five of those seven years; it was No. 2 the other two years.

For the second consecutive year, UCR tied for the top ranking with Florida International University.

U.S. News released its 2026 Best Colleges list on Sept. 23. U.S. News Best Colleges is the nation’s most-watched college rankings list.

In its social mobility ranking, U.S. News aggregates two factors that assess the graduation rates of students who receive the Pell Grant, typically awarded to families earning less than $65,000 per year. The factors are Pell Grant six-year graduation rates and Pell Grant graduation rate performance. More than 45% of UCR’s undergraduates receive a Pell Grant.

UCR was No. 75 in overall rank, an improvement from No. 76 this past year. It remained No. 36 among public universities.

In U.S. News’ scoring formula, 19 categories are considered. The greatest weight in U.S. News’ overall national ranking is afforded to graduation rates, which is a four-year average of six-year graduation rates (21%); graduation rate performance, which considers predicted vs. actual graduation rates (10%); and peer assessment, a reputational survey among presidents, provosts, and admissions deans (20%). 

In breakout categories by program, UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering’s undergraduate computer science program was ranked No. 54 in the nation. UCR’s undergraduate psychology program, in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, climbed three places to No. 60. 

In the overall list, Princeton is No. 1, MIT is No. 2, and Harvard is No. 3.

Several years ago, U.S. News made major adjustments to its formula, to the benefit of categories in which UCR performs well. In 2019, social mobility was given greater overall weight, in addition to getting its own category. Acceptance rates were eliminated, and the weight afforded for standardized test scores and high school standing was reduced.

Fall is college rankings season, with major publications across the U.S. publishing “best college” lists. UCR was recently named the No. 15 university in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine for access, meaning how well it provides access to non-wealthy students. UCR climbed 20 positions among publics, to No. 25 in the U.S.; UCR was No. 50 in the overall national rankings.