UF drops in public universities U.S. News & World Report ranking to No. 6

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - After years of climbing the university rankings, the University of Florida has dropped to a three-way tie for sixth place in the U.S. News and World Report public university ranking.

The report has UF sharing sixth place with the University of California, San Diego and Davis. Last year the university ranked fifth, also in a three-way tie.

The ranking is the first year since 2017 that UF has not risen in the public universities report. UF did go from 29th best national university last year to 28th this year.

The discrepancy may be explained in part by a change in the formula. The Washington Post reports that many public institutions rose in the national universities ranking while private institutions fell.

RELATED: UF ranked number one public university in the country by the Wall Street Journal

The U.S. News and World Report found the average annual cost of tuition for UF is $3,679. The university also has nearly 35,000 undergraduate students with a 72 percent graduation rate.

Florida State, meanwhile, fell from No. 19 to No. 23 this year and was tied with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and William & Mary University in Virginia. The University of South Florida also slipped, clocking in at No. 45 on the list of public universities after being No. 42 last year.

Meanwhile, other Florida universities advanced in the rankings. Florida International University and the University of Central Florida were tied for the No. 64 spot. The University of Central Florida maintained its ranking from last year, while Florida International climbed eight spots. Florida A&M University moved into the top 100 public schools, hitting No. 91 on the U.S. News and World Report list.

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