Alfred University improves standing in latest U.S. News & World Report rankings

U.S. News & World Report released its annual rankings of colleges and universities Tuesday, Sept. 23, and Alfred University is among the institutions of higher education recognized.

In its 2026 Best Colleges Rankings, the publication lists Alfred University in its regional rankings. Among regional colleges and universities in the North, Alfred ranks 61^st overall and is 12^th in the Best Values School listing. Alfred University ranks 36^th in the North in the Top Performers in Social Mobility category. Alfred improved in all three rankings from the 2025 report, when it ranked 66^th, 14^th, and 44^th, respectively in the regional, Best Values, and Social Mobility lists.

Best Value School rankings consider academic quality and the net cost of attendance for students who receive the average level of need-based financial aid. Social Mobility rankings cite a school's record for enrolling and graduating large proportions of economically-disadvantaged students awarded Pell Grants.

Alfred University also ranks nationally for its undergraduate engineering, business, and [psychology programs.

The 2025 U.S. News & World Report accolades follow Alfred University being honored by the Princeton Review with a spot in its 2026 Best 391 Colleges rankings. The publication selects honored institutions based on "our high opinion of their academics." Other factors it considers include admissions, tuition and financial aid, student body, campus life, and job placement/careers. Alfred has been listed in Princeton Review's Best Colleges rankings for 34 straight years.

In its most recent Graduate School rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranks Alfred University's fine arts graduate program 10^th in country and the best in New York State. Alfred's Master of Fine Arts program in ceramics was ranked number one in the nation.