Four colleges and universities in New York ranked among the nation’s top 50 in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings for 2026.
The list includes two Ivy League schools — Cornell University and Columbia University — along with New York University and the University of Rochester among the nation’s top national universities.
The United States Military Academy at West Point also ranked among the country’s top liberal arts colleges.
According to U.S. News, New York has more four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities than any other state. Most operate within the State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) systems, two of the nation’s largest public university systems.
Here’s how New York schools ranked.
Top national universities in New York
To qualify as a national university, a school must offer a broad range of undergraduate majors, along with master’s and doctoral programs, while emphasizing faculty research or awarding professional practice doctorates, according to U.S. News.
The top-ranked national universities in New York are:
Top liberal arts colleges in New York
U.S. News defines national liberal arts colleges as institutions that focus primarily on undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences.
New York’s highest-ranked liberal arts colleges are:
How U.S. News ranked the schools
U.S. News evaluated national universities using a range of academic and student outcome measures, including:
National liberal arts colleges were evaluated using the same methodology, except first-generation graduation measures were not included.on rate performance.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 4 New York universities rank among top 50 in 2026 U.S. News rankings
Reporting by Alexandra Rivera, New York Connect Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexandra Rivera, New York Connect Team | USA TODAY Network
