Wall Street Journal Ranks UW No. 2 Among Land

The University of Wyoming stands No. 2 among the nation’s land-grant universities, and No. 5 overall, in the Wall Street Journal’s 2020 “Is Your College Worth the Cost?” rankings, which are based on student perceptions of the value of their education.

The rankings were compiled by the Journal following a survey of 174,000 students at more than 800 universities nationwide. Based on student responses, only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scored higher than Wyoming among land-grant universities.

Across all universities, only MIT, two military schools (the U.S. Naval Academy and the Virginia Military Academy), and a university with a religious identity (Brigham Young University-Provo) ranked higher than UW. Other universities in the top 10 include Princeton University, Yale University, Washington and Lee University, Bowdoin College and Louisiana Tech.

“These rankings -- second only to MIT among land-grant universities -- clearly are a reflection of the strong support provided by the state of Wyoming and ongoing efforts of the UW Board of Trustees to hold down costs, become more efficient and provide an excellent educational experience,” Acting President Neil Theobald says. “Data show that, while U.S. student-loan debt is now upward of $1.5 trillion, a majority of our students graduate with no student-loan debt and are hired into jobs with relatively high salaries. Our goal is to ensure that Wyoming residents will always have a very cost-effective option for obtaining a high-quality college education.”

UW also ranked 27th on the Journal’s “Best Value” list among public universities nationally.

In the Journal’s overall 2020 college rankings, UW stands 65th among the 341 public universities, its highest ranking ever. Last year, UW ranked 74th among public universities. The overall rankings are based on 15 factors across four main categories: student outcomes, including measures of graduate salaries and debt burdens; academic resources; student engagement; and diversity.

Among UW’s peer universities, only the University of Utah ranks higher (33 among 341 public universities), while the University of Nevada-Reno (74), Colorado State University (between 121-211), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (between 121-211), Utah State University (between 121-211), Boise State University (212-341) and Montana State University (212-341) rank lower.