A&T Accelerates in U.S. News & World Report's “Best Colleges 2025”

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2024) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University shot up the charts in U.S. News & World Report’s newly published higher education undergraduate rankings among national universities and public universities, as well as in social mobility and in engineering.

“Best Colleges 2025” continues North Carolina A&T’s strong showing in the annual rankings season. Over the past month, Money magazine’s rankings recognized A&T as the nation’s most affordable doctoral research university, while the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings listed A&T as the nation’s top-rated public historically Black college or university (HBCU).

In the annual U.S. News rankings, A&T leapt up 49 places among national universities to No. 231 (tied) and 25 places to No. 126 (tied) among public universities – A&T’s highest ranking to date in either category. That 49-place improvement was the second highest of any institution in U.S. News' National Universities category. Only D'Youville University in New York, which improved 61 positions, fared better.

In the social mobility category, which measures how successfully universities prepare students for careers that significantly improve their economic circumstances, A&T moved up a strong 42 places to No. 36 (tied) in the nation.

“This year’s rankings are a great reflection of the attention that North Carolina A&T has paid to the strength and rigor of our academic programs and to our special preparation of students for careers of impact,” said Chancellor James R. Martin II. “When you look at our top ranking for affordability combined with our performance in social mobility and our outstanding graduation rankings in high-reward disciplines such as engineering and mathematics, you see the nation’s largest HBCU further distinguishing itself among leading universities.”

Among national universities, A&T’s ascent was fueled by a graduation rate that significantly exceeded projections for all students and for students receiving the most common form of federal aid, the Pell Grant.

On the HBCU rankings, A&T’s peer ranking improved to 4.4, second only to Spelman College (4.5) among all HBCUs, while the university ranked No. 8 on that list overall. In Social Mobility, A&T earned the second-highest ranking in the UNC System, and third-highest among all HBCUs nationally.

The A&T College of Engineering, which continues to be America’s top source of Black engineers, also charted significant progress. Among universities that award doctoral degrees in engineering, A&T moved up 10 places to No. 125 in the nation.

The college has steadily improved over the past three years from a tie at No. 150 to its current status where it is tied with such campuses as the University of New Hampshire, Boise State University and Southern Methodist University. Along with the University of North Carolina Charlotte, A&T ranks third among engineering schools in the UNC System.

Finally, in computer science, A&T moved up 35 places to No. 214, while the A&T School of Nursing rose 127 places to No. 345.