College ranking season is upon us, with the first entry coming from Pittsburgh-based Niche. The closely watched U.S. News & World Report Best College Rankings are due out on Sept. 12.
In the Niche list, Pitt came in at 26th among public universities and 110th overall. Pitt also ranked in the top 50 in several categories: Kinesiology and Physical Therapy (11th out of 589); Best Big Colleges (27th out of 126); Criminal Justice (34th out of 695); Nursing (39th out of 762); Business (42nd out of 1,243); Accounting and Finance (42nd out of 839) and Best Professors (45th out of 1,528).
Among all universities MIT, Stanford and Harvard led the list. UCLA, Michigan and Georgia Tech topped the list of public, four year schools.
Niche put a special emphasis this year on updating the methodology for assessing a college’s value. New factors — sourced from the U.S .Department of Education, American Community Survey and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System — include average return on investment by age 30, median earnings one year after graduation, percent of graduates employed two years after graduation, difference between first and second year earnings and more. For value, Pitt ranked 130th out of 1,498. The California Institute of Technology led this list.
Niche also ranks campus atmosphere. Pitt ranked 114th for Best Party School — a list led by University of California at Santa Barbara. West Virginia University and Penn State ranked 11th and 12th, respectively on this list.
The report gives letter grades to various aspects of campus life, such as diversity, athletics and professors. Pitt got an A in all categories except: Dorms (B-); Campus (B+) Campus Food (C+) and Safety (B).
Katz Executive MBA
The Executive MBA program in the Katz Graduate School of Business is ranked No. 18 nationwide and No. 6 among public university programs in the 2022-23 Poets & Quants Executive MBA Ranking.
These are the highest-ever Katz rankings since the report started more than 10 years ago, according to Pittwire. The results are based on rankings from other highly respected publications such as the U.S. News & World Report, The Financial Times and The Economist.