The Big Ten prides itself on being the premier academic conference while also having a strong athletic foundation across the major sports. No other conference can boast high-profile academics and athletics the way the Big Ten can. Seventeen of the 18 member institutions are members of the Association of American Universities, an organization devoted to strong academics and research. Nebraska is the only school not in the AAU.
For many years, all Big Ten schools but one were ranked in the top 100 schools in the country. Last year, there were two outside the top 100. This year, there are three.
U.S. News & World Report updated its academic rankings for 2026. Here is where each Big Ten school ranks relative to each other, as well as the national ranking, total enrollment and acceptance rate.
18. University of Nebraska
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
U.S. News rank: 158 (tie) (previously: 152)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 19,701
Acceptance rate: 87%
Learn more about Nebraska at Huskers Wire.
17. University of Oregon
Location: Eugene, Oregon
U.S. News rank: 110 (previously: 109)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 19,963
Acceptance rate: 88%
Learn more about Oregon at Ducks Wire.
16. University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
U.S. News rank: 102 (tie) (previously 98)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 22,378
Acceptance rate: 84%
Learn more about Iowa at Hawkeyes Wire.
15. Indiana University
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
U.S. News rank: 73 (same as before)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 38,093
Acceptance rate: 78%
13. Michigan State University
Location: East Lansing, Michigan
U.S. News rank: 64 (tie) (previously: 63)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 41,234
Acceptance rate: 85%
Learn more about MSU at Spartans Wire.
11. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
U.S. News rank: 59 (tie) (previously: 54)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 42,303
Acceptance rate: 80%
11. The Pennsylvania State University
Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
U.S. News rank: 59 (tie) (previously: 63)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 42,619
Acceptance rate: 61%
Learn more about Penn State at Nittany Lions Wire.
10. Purdue University
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
U.S. News rank: 46 (tie) (previously: 46)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 44,819
Acceptance rate: 50%
8. University of Washington
Location: Seattle, Washington
U.S. News rank: 42 (tie) (previously 46)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 40,754
Acceptance rate: 39%
Learn more about UW at UW Huskies Wire.
8. University of Maryland
Location: College Park, Maryland
U.S. News rank: 42 (tie) (previously 44)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 31,133
Acceptance rate: 45%
8. Rutgers University
Location: New Brunswick/Piscataway, New Jersey
U.S. News rank: 42 (tie) (previously 41)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 37,985
Acceptance rate: 41%
7. The Ohio State University
Location: Columbus, Ohio
U.S. News rank: 41 (previously 41)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 46,815
Acceptance rate: 61%
Big Ten rank: Up from No. 9
Learn more about Ohio State at Buckeyes Wire.
5. University of Wisconsin
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
U.S. News rank: 36 (tie) (previously: 39)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 39,083
Acceptance rate: 45%
Learn more about Wisconsin at Badgers Wire.
5. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Location: Champaign, Illinois
U.S. News rank: 36 (previously 33)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 37,140
Acceptance rate: 42%
4. University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles, California
U.S. News rank: 28 (previously 27)
Total enrollment fall 2024 : 20,630
Acceptance rate: 10%
Learn more about the Trojans at USC Wire.
3. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
U.S. News rank: 20 (tie) (previously 21)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 34,454
Acceptance rate: 16%
2. University of California, Los Angeles
Location: Los Angeles (Westwood), California
U.S. News rank: 17 (tie) (previously 15)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 33,471
Acceptance rate: 9%
Learn more about the Bruins at UCLA Wire.
1. Northwestern University
Location: Evanston, Illinois
U.S. News rank: 7 (tie) (previously: 6)
Total enrollment fall 2024: 9,060
Acceptance rate: 8% (previously 7%)
There isn’t much change to the 2024 rankings, but there were some changes to some of the acceptance rates.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten academic rankings 2026: three schools fall outside top 100
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
