North Columbus News

The Ohio State University has improved its standings in the latest rankings of public and national universities by U.S. News & World Report.

Ohio State now ranks 15th among public universities and 41st nationally in the Best Colleges rankings for 2025, moving up two spots in both categories.

“Ohio State is one of the best public universities in the nation with outstanding students, faculty and staff who are passionate about solving the world's most pressing challenges," President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. said. "The university just enrolled a record-setting first-year class, we have a world-class academic medical center that continues to excel at patient care and life-changing research, and a worldwide network of nearly 620,000 alumni."

In addition to overall rankings, Ohio State continues to be highly rated in various academic programs. The College of Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is ranked first among public universities and fourth nationally.

In the Fisher College of Business, the undergraduate business program ranked seventh among public universities and 14th nationally. The undergraduate engineering degree program in the College of Engineering was ranked 12th among publics and 20th nationally, its highest ranking to date. Ohio State’s program is categorized under universities offering an engineering doctorate.

For the first time, Ohio State joined top universities for first-year experience, ranking 50th nationally. This survey evaluates efforts to connect new students to their campus community and is only in its second year for U.S. News & World Report.

Ohio State also remains committed to military-connected students, ranking 15th among public institutions and 22nd nationally, up two spots from previous years.

Now in its 40th year, the Best Colleges issue evaluates nearly 1,500 colleges and universities on up to 17 measures of academic quality. Ohio State is part of a peer group consisting of more than 400 national universities.