Colorado State University is ranked among the top universities in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report annual “America’s Best Colleges”[1] list released today.

CSU is No. 61 among the top U.S. public universities[2], and has climbed six spots since 2012 due to the university’s continuous commitment to boost faculty excellence, expand student scholarships and invest in significant capital improvements across campus.

Least Debt

While providing an outstanding educational experience, CSU also offers one of the best economic values in the country. According to U.S. News data, 43 percent of CSU students don’t take on student loan debt and among those who do, the amount is about $23,000. This places the university among national universities whose students graduate with the lightest debt load.

The magazine included CSU on its list of A-plus schools for students who want to be part of a university with a broad, engaged student body while displaying their individuality and seriousness of purpose.

CSU, along with Harvard, Brown and Cornell, is among only a handful of universities noted for making writing a priority[3] at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum.

Leading research university

U.S. News noted in its summary that CSU is considered “one of the leading research universities, and faculty and students work together to explore fields such as atmospheric science, infectious diseases, clean energy technologies and environmental science.”

CSU is one of the top performing research institutions in the nation, with nine consecutive years of over $300 million in research expenditures.

‘Best for Veterans’

U.S. News also has ranked the university as one of the “Best for Veterans.” CSU has emerged as one of the country’s top destinations for student-veterans seeking a welcoming environment coupled with a high-level educational experience. The university has beefed up programs and made significant investments in veterans’ scholarship and service programs in recent years, earning numerous other recognitions as well.

The magazine ranked nearly 1,400 colleges and universities this year. A complete list of rankings and methodologies is available at www.usnews.com[4].

Recent accolades

CSU is routinely highlighted in national rankings recognizing top universities and programs:

• Colorado State University is among the top sustainable universities in the U.S., according to Sierra magazine, the national magazine of the Sierra Club, which has released its 10th annual “Cool Schools” ranking of America’s greenest colleges and universities.
• CSU was named among the Best 381 Colleges 2017 Edition by The Princeton Review. The university’s profile highlights providing students with numerous academic resources that guide them toward academic success with “open communication” between students and the administration. The profile also states that the university strives to prepare students with hands-on experience while they are students so they can be prepared in the real world. Students surveyed say that CSU is a “hidden gem” that offers a “wonderful education, friendly people, and awesome culture,” along with “excellent” green efforts, a strong engineering program, and myriad research opportunities.
• CSU is among America’s Top Colleges ranked by Forbes. The ranking notes that despite state and federal cuts, Colorado State has increased its scholarships and need-based aid by 56 percent over the past four years.
• CSU is featured in the 2017 edition of Fiske Guide to Colleges. Compiled by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, the Fiske Guide includes the “best and most interesting” colleges in the nation.
• CSU is among the 100 top values in public colleges and universities ranked in the 2016 edition of Kiplinger’s Best College Values. The rankings are based on academic quality and cost and financial aid measures.
• CSU’s veterinary school is one of the top programs in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Graduate School edition, the latest ranking. CSU’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program is ranked No. 3 in the national ranking of veterinary training programs.
• CSU was ranked in the top 50 nationally in several of the of the U.S. News 2017 Best Graduate Schools categories, including biological/agricultural engineering at No. 27, civil engineering at No. 39 and environmental/environmental health engineering at No. 45.
• CSU’s part-time MBA program in the College of Business[5] is the top program of its kind in the state, ranking No. 51 nationally, according to the S. News 2017 Best Graduate Schools edition.
• CSU’s environmental science and engineering[6] research programs have been ranked No. 7 worldwide[7] by the Academic Ranking of World Universities[8].
• CSU’s Merchandising program in the Department of Design and Merchandising is considered among the top 5 percent nationally, according to the latest rankings by Fashion-Schools.org.[9]
• CSU’s College of Business[5] has been recognized as an outstanding provider of online graduate education programs for 2016 by S. News and World Report. The online MBA, graduate business programs, and information technology programs placed in the top tier of the nation’s distance education offerings. Among the best online MBA programs, CSU ranked No. 50, moving up 7 spots in just one year. CSU’s graduate information technology program ranked No. 30, and the graduate business program ranked No. 37 on the latest list.
• CSU’s Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA ranks No. 3 among social entrepreneurship graduate programs, according to Net Impact. [10] The expanded version of the ninth annual Business as UNusual guide places the College of Business program among the top graduate programs with a focus on corporate responsibility and sustainability topics.
• CSU’s College of Business is ranked among the top business schools for veterans by Military Times. The college ranks No. 29, the highest in Colorado in the new Best for Vets: Business Schools 2016[11]
• CSU is one of only five universities in the nation to be recognized as Platinum by the League of American Bicyclists. To reach this highest possible status, the university had to demonstrate that it is an exemplary campus for bicyclists, welcoming cycling at every level, and has a number of people biking at much higher levels than the national average. CSU is the first university to climb directly from Silver to Platinum, skipping Gold, in its quest to support biking on campus.