The University of Florida has been named the nation’s No. 1 university, public or private, according to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) editorial.
The piece, titled “The University Elite, Reconsidered,” features rankings created by the City Journal that evaluated 100 leading universities throughout the U.S.
According to a UF press release, the ranking system assessed the institutions on 68 factors, including the strength of the college’s curriculum, academic rigor, preparing students as members of society and the workforce, and encouragement of civil discourse.
UF earned the top ranking with a four-star rating, something achieved by just one other university.
“This recognition for UF is something we should all be proud of,” UF Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini and interim President Donald Landry wrote in a Thursday email to students, faculty, staff and alumni. “It demonstrates that at the University of Florida, we have anticipated the re-thinking of the true value of a university education and have invested strategically in our programs and in our culture to seize this moment of opportunity. “
The WSJ said the new ranking provides a different approach to higher education by focusing on colleges that “prioritize intellectual growth and civic engagement” instead of just “prestige and selectivity.”
The release states that the analysis honors schools that promote viewpoint diversity and maintain “robust, well-rounded curricula across the liberal arts and sciences.”
In the editorial, the WSJ notes that the rankings “look closely at the strength of the general curriculum and whether the university is providing excellence or coasting on a fancy reputation.”
The editorial also said colleges that “demonstrated ideological pluralism among the faculty received higher remarks.”
“Same for a vibrant and inclusive campus social life,” the editorial added. “Student tolerance for conversational speakers was another plus.”
UF leaders said the new ranking serves as validation and motivation to continue furthering academic freedom, excellence and innovation across different academic fields.
“At the University of Florida, we’re doing what universities are supposed to be doing, and we’re doing it better than anyone else in the country,” Hosseini and Landry wrote in the email.
Among the other schools mentioned in the new ranking include the University of Texas at Austin (No. 2), University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (No. 3), Georgia Institute of Technology (No. 6), Florida State University (No. 7), University of Virgina (No. 16), University of Michigan (No. 31), University of California, Davis (No. 39), University of California, Los Angeles (No. 40) and University of California, San Diego (No. 72).
This isn’t the first time UF has received high accolades from the WSJ.
The media company also named UF the top public university in the country in its “2024 Best Colleges in the U.S.” and the 34th-best public institution in its “2025 Best Colleges in the U.S.” rankings.
U.S. News and World Report also recently ranked UF No. 7 among national public universities for the second year in a row.