“A range of rankings recognized Brown’s distinctive approach to rigorous scholarship and student-centered education, highlighting the University as a hub for exceptional research and intellectual discourse,” Brown officials said. “While rankings are informative and of interest to many community members, we remain firm in our belief that no formulaic list can fully capture the breadth of an educational journey or determine if a school is the right fit for a prospective student or employee.” 

Rankings balance academics with return on investment

In its “Best Colleges” guide for 2026, published on Tuesday, Sept. 23, U.S. News and World Report placed Brown at No. 13 nationally. The annual ranking evaluates schools on factors including academic reputation, ample classroom resources for students and faculty, and high graduation and retention rates, as well as producing graduates who are successful in their careers and cost of attendance and return on investment.

In lists rating affordability and accessibility, Brown was recognized for its financial aid initiatives, earning the No. 21 spot on Princeton Review’s list of “Best Value Colleges.” Money gave Brown its maximum five-star rating on its “Best Colleges in America 2025” list, which assesses financial aid, graduation rates for students, and alumni career success. Brown was one of 40 U.S. schools to receive Money’s five-star rating.

Scholarships360 named Brown to its “Top Colleges for Students in 2025” for student success and affordability, a ranking that considers graduate income, student debt and completion rates. WalletHub placed Brown at No. 17 in its 2025 rankings, which considers graduation rate, career outcomes, salaries and student debt.

For student experience, Brown landed the No. 1 U.S. News ranking for “Writing in the Disciplines” for the seventh year in a row, No. 15 for “Best Value” and No. 2 for “Undergraduate Teaching,” up one spot from last year. U.S. News also ranked Brown No. 3 for “Best Colleges for Veterans,” which recognizes affordability and support for students who are military veterans and active-duty service members, and No. 5 for “First-year Experiences,” up three spots from last year, among other ratings based on student experience and academic program attributes.

In the U.S. News “Best Graduate Schools” 2025-26 guide, the University received a broad array of recognitions in computer science, economics, public health and more, including the No. 4 spot nationally for Brown’s doctoral program in applied mathematics, No. 6 for its Ph.D. in Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, and No. 8 for its doctoral program in English.

Additional U.S. News and World Report rankings placed Brown at No. 11 for undergraduate economics, No. 4 for the University’s senior capstone, and No. 8 for service learning, up two spots from last year.

Recognitions for research, teaching and career preparation

In other rankings, Forbes placed Brown at No. 18 on “America’s Top Colleges” list, which recognizes schools where students from all economic backgrounds graduate on time, secure high salaries after graduation and complete degrees with little student debt. PitchBook ranked Brown No. 24 globally for graduating the most entrepreneurs who have raised venture capital in the last decade in its 2025 “University Rankings.”

Princeton Review’s “Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition” ranked Brown No. 7 nationally for “Best Quality of Life” for attributes including friendliness, safety, location and students’ overall happiness. The list highlighted Brown’s emphasis on undergraduate academic freedom and signature Open Curriculum, a culture that supports the open exchange of ideas, and engaging and dedicated faculty members who are “at the top of their fields and are working on research that pushes those fields forward.” Princeton Review also ranked Brown No. 4 for “Best College Theater” and No. 7 for “Making an Impact.”

Brown made the list of “Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting,” ranked by All In, which recognizes colleges and universities that advance nonpartisan democratic engagement. And the 2025 “Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings” — which measure how much scholars contribute to public discussions of education — included six Brown faculty members among a list of the top 200 higher education scholars at U.S. universities.

In recognition of Brown’s teaching in computer science and engineering, RoboticsBiz placed Brown on its list of “Top 20 Trailblazing Universities in the USA for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.” CodeSignal ranked Brown No. 22 globally in its skill-based ranking of computer science programs.

Niche ranked the University No. 4 for “2026 Best Colleges for English in America.” 

Internationally, Brown placed No. 5 in the “QS Executive MBA Rankings 2025” for its joint executive MBA program with IE Business School in Spain. Brown placed No. 56 globally in Times Higher Education’s “World Reputation Rankings 2025,” which rank the world’s top 300 institutions for academic reputation and prestige.

Recognitions for top employer and thriving workplace

In recognition of exceptional support for faculty and staff, Brown was ranked the No. 4 “Best Employer” in Rhode Island on Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers by State” list, up two spots from last year, based on criteria including pay parity, pathways to professional advancement and work culture. Nationally, Forbes placed Brown on its list of America’s 500 “Best Midsize Employers” and included the University in its inaugural list of “America’s Dream Employers,” based on factors including salary, professional development opportunities, workplace flexibility and the ability of employees to express ideas openly. 

Forbes ranked Brown No. 34 on its list of “America’s Best Employers for Company Culture,” which recognizes employers that acknowledge performance, value input from employees, prioritize collaboration and offer employee-centric training programs. Forbes also ranked Brown among its “Best Employers for Women” and included Brown in its list of “America’s Best Employers for New Grads 2025.”

Brown was given top marks for its services to support the University community’s health and well-being, including the top “exemplary winner” designation in the 2025 Worksite Health Awards from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Providence Business News recognized Brown in the 2025 Healthiest Employers of Rhode Island Awards program, which recognizes organizations that advance proactive worksite health and wellness programs for their employees.