In its annual ranking of top national universities, Washington Monthly magazine has named UC Riverside No. 28 among all institutions, and No. 15 among public universities. The 2018 rankings were released Aug. 27.
UCR achieved notably high ranks in the category deemed “social mobility,” which holds one-third of the weight in Washington Monthly’s scoring system. Social mobility considers the degree to which universities recruit and graduate low-income students. Washington Monthly ranked UCR No. 3 nationally in the academic performance of its low-income (Pell Grant) students, and No. 18 for its first-generation student success.
“Washington Monthly’s rankings are part of a set of college and university rankings that increasingly recognize the importance of students’ social mobility and civic engagement,” said UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox. “Making the magazine’s top 30 list is an acknowledgment of all UCR is doing right to ensure the success of its students.”
The Washington Monthly accolade marks the second top national ranking for UCR in the past week. On Aug. 20, Money magazine named UC Riverside No. 32 among 727 U.S. universities.
The top five universities in the 2018 Washington Monthly ranking are, in order, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, and Yale. Five other University of California schools are in the top 30 with UCR.
Washington Monthly’s rankings afford weight to areas in which UCR is strong, including social mobility, research, and public service.
UCR’s six-year graduation rate for Pell Grant graduates most recently registered 73 percent — 24 percentage points higher than the national average. More than 50 percent of UCR’s students are Pell Grant recipients.
Washington Monthly created its ranking in 2006 as an answer to the annual U.S. News & World Report list, which has drawn scrutiny due to its disproportionate inclusion of the most elite private schools.
“We thought the nation needed exactly the opposite: smart, well-run colleges that enrolled students from all walks of life and helped them earn a high-quality diploma at an affordable price. Colleges that instilled a sense of service and public obligation while producing groundbreaking research,” Washington Monthly guest editor Kevin Carey wrote in the prelude to this year’s rankings.
In 2017, Washington Monthly ranked UCR No. 21, and No. 12 among public universities; from 2013-15, UCR ranked No. 2.