Fresno State Among Top 30 Universities Third Straight Year

Fresno State is making national headlines again in a major way.

For the third consecutive year, Washington Monthly ranked Fresno State among the nation’s best at combining academic excellence with economic opportunity.

Ranked Among The Best

The D.C.-based magazine, which is known for its annual rankings of American colleges and universities, announced Monday that Fresno State ranked No. 24.

Among those on the list are seven Ivy League institutions, including top-ranked Harvard University, six University of California campuses and MIT.

Fresno State ranks 12th among the 17 public institutions included in the rankings.

“Fresno State is proud to once again represent the California State University system in the top 30,” said Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro.

One of Two MW Conference Schools To Make List

Fresno State and Utah State University (No. 12) are the only Mountain West Conference schools to make the list.

For 13 years, Washington Monthly has been ranking colleges and universities with what it calls “a different kind of college ranking” focusing on three equally-weighted criteria: social mobility, research, and public service.

The rankings are “not based on what colleges do for themselves, but on what they do for their country,” recognizing universities that “push the boundaries of scientific discovery and provide paths to opportunity for the next generation of low-income students.”

Commitment to Public Service Noted

Fresno State was also the No. 2 school in the national university category in commitment to spending federal work-study funds on public service. At Fresno State, almost 70 percent of work-study funds go to service. The university was ranked No. 4 nationally in the net price of attending after subtracting grants and scholarships.

As a university that enrolls many first-generation college students and helps them graduate, Fresno State was cited last year by Washington Monthly for its “stellar graduation rate relative to other colleges with a similar admissions profile.”

The magazine also said Fresno State’s “net price of attendance (what students pay after scholarships are deducted from tuition) is among the very lowest nationwide.”

Ranking Demonstrates Fresno State’s Potential and Value

Castro said Fresno State’s continued presence in the rankings alongside such prestigious universities nationwide demonstrates the potential and value of the university when students, faculty, and staff work together to improving graduation rates and positively impact the Central Valley and beyond. About 80 percent of Fresno State graduates stay and work in the Valley.

“These types of national distinctions are possible when we choose to be bold in all that we do at Fresno State,” Castro said. “Every day on campus and in the community, we encounter students and alumni who are using the opportunities provided at Fresno State as a launching point to advance in their lives and achieve their goals. That happens with thousands of graduates each year and the result is a more prosperous region.”

Other Accomplishments For Fresno State

In May, Fresno State celebrated its largest graduating class ever with more than 6,000 students earning degrees. Enrollment at Fresno State this fall is at an all-time high of more than 25,200 students. 

Fresno State was reclassified as a Carnegie doctoral university in 2016, meaning it was reviewed the past three years with the nation’s top doctoral-granting institutions rather than the top master’s degree universities. Fresno State offers doctoral degrees in nursing, physical therapy, and educational leadership.

Last year, Fresno State ranked No. 17 on Washington Monthly’s list. It was No. 25 in 2016.

Earlier this month, Money Magazine rated Fresno State among the nation’s Top 100 universities based on its comprehensive criteria.

The Top 30

1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4. Princeton University
5. Yale University
6. Duke University
7. University of California, San Diego*
8. Georgetown University
9. University of California, Los Angeles*
10. University of California, Davis*
11. Texas A&M University, College Station*
12. Utah State University*
13. University of Pennsylvania
14. Columbia University in the City of NY
15. University of Washington*
16. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill*
17. University of Florida*
18. University of California, Berkeley*
19. Brown University
20. University of California, Irvine*
21. Brigham Young University
22. University of Wisconsin, Madison*
23. Dartmouth College
24. California State University, Fresno*
25. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor*
26. University of Illinois at Chicago*
27. University of Notre Dame
28. University of California, Riverside*
29. University of Utah*
30. Augusta University*

* Public institution