Pitt Rises Yet Again in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" Rankings

PITTSBURGH—In the newly issued rankings for the 2005 edition of U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges," the University of Pittsburgh has risen for the fourth year in a row in the category "The Top 50 Public National Universities-Doctoral" from 27th place last year to 26th place this year, ahead of such public institutions as Indiana University-Bloomington, Michigan State University, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Virginia Tech.

In the U.S. News rankings two years ago, Pitt was tied for 31th place in this category, and the year before that it was tied for 39th place.

In addition, U.S. News included Pitt this year among 16 institutions of higher learning nationwide that excel in their "Writing in the Disciplines" undergraduate programs. "These colleges typically make writing a priority at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum," according to U.S. News. Among the other colleges and universities included in the "Writing in the Disciplines" category are Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale universities; Sarah Lawrence College; and the University of Chicago. This category is part of the "America's Best Colleges" "Programs to look for" section, which lists "outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success."

Also, for the second year in a row, the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown placed third in the North in the category "The Top Public Comprehensive Colleges."

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8/20/04/blg