By Allison Alsup
September 14, 2022 • Reading Time: 3 minutes
For the second year in a row, the University of Florida is listed as one of the top five public research universities in the nation, according to the 2023 Best Colleges rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report.
The No. 5 recognition reaffirms UF’s status as an academic powerhouse in research, innovation, educational excellence, student outcomes and technology transfer. It acknowledges the university’s positive impact on student’s lives and on the economic vitality of the state, the nation and the world. And it demonstrates the return on the investment in UF’s students, faculty and staff by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Legislature, the state’s congressional representatives, the board that oversees the State University System and the UF Board of Trustees.
UF’s rise is the result of longstanding work to make the university a place where students, faculty and staff can learn, teach, research and contribute at the highest levels, UF President Kent Fuchs said.
“This is a tribute to all those who steadily contributed to UF’s excellence in the past and sets a call to action for those who will advance our reputation in the years to come,” Fuchs said. “With this recognition, our ability to recruit and retain students, staff and faculty who are passionate about making a difference in the world will continue to increase. Our momentum is accelerating.”
The Heavener School of Business and the Fisher School of Accounting at the Warrington College of Business also received top ranks from U.S. News & World Report.
The Heavener School maintained its position as the No. 23 undergraduate business program in the nation, and the Fisher School rose to the No. 10 undergraduate accounting program in the nation.
With its No. 23 national ranking out of 516 ranked schools, the Heavener School is among the top 5 percent of all ranked undergraduate business schools in the United States. It continues to be the highest-ranked undergraduate business program in the state of Florida and is the No. 13 program among U.S. publics.
“At the Heavener School, we’re committed to providing our students with the best of the best opportunities for hands on learning and leadership,” saidErica Studer-Byrnes, Assistant Dean and Director of the Heavener School of Business. “From innovative academic experiences, unparalleled flexibility in our degree offerings, to professional development opportunities that provide customized skill development that’s right for each student, we are preparing the next generation of transformational leaders for the state of Florida and beyond.”
The Heavener School saw significant advances in its degree program rankings, six of which were ranked as part of U.S. News’ annual list. The undergraduate programs in accounting, marketing and real estate were ranked in the top 10 among national programs. Along with the accounting program’s rise, the finance and management programs also rose four and five places from last year to the No. 14 and No. 21 best programs in the nation, respectively. After not being ranked in 2022, information systems joined the list as the No. 21 best program in the nation.
Among U.S. public universities, the Fisher School is ranked as the No. 5 best program, rising two spots from last year. The Fisher School continues to be the top-ranked undergraduate accounting program in the state of Florida by U.S. News & World Report.
“Excellence is at the center of everything we do at the Fisher School,” saidGary McGill, Senior Associate Dean of the Warrington College of Business, Director of the Fisher School of Accounting and J. Roy Duggan Professor. “We are committed to improving the profession through producing future professional and academic leaders, creating influential research and engaging with the global professional community.”
To calculate these rankings, U.S. News surveyed deans and senior faculty members at each of the 516 undergraduate business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in the spring and early summer of 2022. These deans and faculty members – two at each AACSB-accredited business program – were asked to rate the quality of all programs with which they were familiar on a scale from 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). The undergraduate business school rankings were based solely on the judgements of deans and senior faculty members at peer institutions.
For the specialty rankings, U.S. News asked deans and senior faculty to nominate up to 15 of the best programs among each specialty area. A school had to receive seven or more top-15 nominations in a specific specialty area to be included on the list.
