The 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings are out, and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is still the top ranked national university in Minnesota. The Twin Cities campus held at No. 59 nationally, the exact same spot it earned last year, and it has placed in the 50s for the past few years.
The U of M Is Minnesota's Only Top Public School
Beyond the overall ranking, the University of Minnesota placed No. 24 on the U.S. News list of top public schools. No other Minnesota college or university was ranked in that category.
Several programs earned national recognition too. The nursing program ranked No. 9 in the country, undergraduate chemical engineering placed No. 12, and the undergraduate business program came in at No. 20.
How the Rest of Minnesota's Colleges Ranked
The U of M was not the only Minnesota school on the national universities list. Here is where the others landed:
- No. 156: University of St. Thomas, St. Paul
- No. 236: Bethel University, Arden Hills
- No. 299: Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, Winona
- No. 376: Concordia University, St. Paul
Minnesota's private liberal arts colleges also showed up strong. Carleton College in Northfield ranked No. 16 among national liberal arts colleges, and Macalester College in St. Paul and St. Olaf College in Northfield also earned national rankings. Macalester President Suzanne Rivera said the school continues to shine in the categories its community cares about most, including academic distinction, access, value, and service to society.
What These Rankings Actually Measure
U.S. News built its 2027 rankings on 17 measures of academic and graduate success, with heavy weight on student outcomes like graduation rates and social mobility. That matters if you are reading these numbers as a parent or a student. An overall rank blends a lot of factors, so a school's program level ranking may tell you more about the specific path you care about.
That is where the U of M's results get interesting. Holding steady at No. 59 overall is solid, but a top 10 nursing program and a top 20 undergraduate business program are the kind of details that can shape a real decision for a Twin Cities family.
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Why It Matters for the Twin Cities
Families across the metro, from Minneapolis and St. Paul to Woodbury, Stillwater, and the rest of the east metro, have a long list of nationally ranked schools within a short drive. Between the University of Minnesota, St. Thomas, Macalester, Concordia, Bethel, and the Northfield colleges, a lot of options sit close to home.
Rankings are one data point, not the whole story. Visiting campuses, talking to current students, and comparing the programs that match your goals will always tell you more than a single number. Still, it is good news to see so many Minnesota schools earning national attention again this year.
You can view the full list of Minnesota schools on the U.S. News website.
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