Auburn Football — Jordan-Hare Stadium is an Auburn University icon. (Ben Johnson / The Bama Buzz)

U.S. News & World Report just released their 2024 Best Colleges report, and some universities and colleges in Alabama got high marks. Keep reading for the highlights!

Alabama college highlights in U.S. News’ list—nationwide rankings

Uah — The University of Alabama in Huntsville made it on the list of National Universities. (Sarah Gronberg / The Bama Buzz)

First up is the “National Universities” category (see the methodology here). Of course, this is a huge category with Princeton University taking the #1 spot. According to U.S. News & World Report, it includes schools that “offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and Ph.D. programs.”

Auburn University was the only Alabama university to rank in the top 100 “National Universities” category. Auburn also ranked #47 in the “Top Public Schools” category and tied for #53 in the “Engineering Programs (doctorate)” category.
Tuskegee University ranked #4 in “Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham tied for #7 in the “Nursing” category. They were #142 in the “National Universities” category and tied for #76 in “Top Public Schools.”
The University of Alabama ranked #31 in the “Nursing” category. They also tied for #170 in the “National Universities” category, tied for #91 in “Top Public Schools” category and tied for #90 in “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate).
The University of Alabama Huntsville ranked #123 in “Top Public Schools,” tied for #227 in the “National Universities” category and tied for #120 in “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” (at schools whose highest degree is a doctorate).

The best colleges in the South

Tuskegee University Campus — George Washington Carver bust on the campus of Tuskegee University. Photo via Pat Byington for Bham Now

Focusing more closely on the South are the “Best Regional Universities South” and “Best Regional Colleges South” categories. The regional universities “offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs but few doctoral programs,” and the regional colleges “focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines” (U.S. News & World Report).

Here are some highlights from this category.

Tuskegee University ranked #1 in “Top Performers on Social Mobility” within the “Regional Universities South” category, #8 in “Regional Universities South” and #25 in “Best Value Universities in the South.”
Spring Hill College ranked #8 in “Regional Colleges South.” They also ranked ranked #6 in “Best Value Schools” and #7 in “Best Colleges for Veterans” within the “Regional Colleges South” category.
Huntingdon College ranked #9 in “Regional Colleges South” and #10 in “Best Value Schools” within the category.
The University of Montevallo ranked #20 in “Regional Universities South” and #7 in “Top Public Universities in the South,” #6 in “Best Schools for Veterans” within the South and #4 in “Best Value Schools” within the South.
The University of North Alabama tied for #33 in “Regional Universities South,” tied for #14 in “Top Public Universities in the South” and #12 in “Best Schools for Veterans” in the South.
Troy University tied for #55 in “Regional Universities South,” #23 in “Top Public Universities in the South” and tied for #20 in “Best Schools for Veterans” within the South.
Talladega College tied for #61 in “Regional Colleges South” and tied for #21 in “Top Performers on Social Mobility” in the South.
Jacksonville State University tied for #64 in “Regional Universities South” and tied for #30 in “Top Public Universities in the South.”
The University of Mobile tied for #76 in “Regional Universities South.”
Stillman College tied for #78 in “Regional Colleges South.”
The University of West Alabama tied for #79 in “Regional Universities South” and tied for #38 in “Top Public Universities in the South.”
Miles College ranked #88 in “Regional Colleges South.”
Alabama A&M University tied for #98 in “Regional Universities South” and tied for #47 in “Top Public Universities in the South.” They also ranked #36 in “Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”