Iowa State earned multiple national rankings for 2021 and 2022 from the U.S. News and World Report, the Washington Monthly and the Princeton Review.

“Rankings are one indicator of how we’re doing, there are many, but we’re pleased to be recognized externally,” said the Senior Manager of Communications in the Office of Senior Vice President and Provost, Rob Schweers.

The U.S. News and World Report ranks Iowa State 58th (tied) among public schools, 122nd (tied) in the overall national rankings and recognizes ISU as one of the Best Colleges for Veterans and one of the Best Value Schools.

The Washington Monthly ranked Iowa State 27th in their overall rankings, the only public university in Iowa to make the top 30 and awarded ISU 31st for the Best Bang for the Buck (Midwest). They also recognized Iowa State as one of the Best Colleges for Student Voting.

“We would always like to improve the affordability of our education,” said Schweers. “We also keep track of where our tuition lines with institutions in border states… and our peer group.”

The Princeton Review listed Iowa State in their “The Best 387 Colleges” for 2022.

Along with the multiple overall rankings, Iowa State also earned recognition for multiple undergraduate programs from the U.S. News and World Report. These rankings included 45th (tied) for Undergraduate Engineering Programs and a doctorate program, 60th (tied) for Undergraduate Computer Science Programs and 74th (tied) for Undergraduate Business Programs. 

Specific engineering programs that were ranked include Agricultural and Biosystems, (tied for 2nd), Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, (tied for 22nd) and Industrial and Manufacturing Systems, (ranked 20th). Specific business programs acknowledged were Supply Chain Management, (tied for 20th), and Entrepreneurship, (tied for 32nd).

Shweers remarked on Iowa State’s history and relationship with STEM and other curriculum.

“Our heritage is in STEM,” said Schweers. “Even if you go back to the Morrill Act, which established the land grant universities, they wanted to focus on the agricultural and mechanical arts but not to the exclusion of liberal arts. So we have all those programs. I think that it can be a little harder to rank the non-STEM programs.”

Iowa State was also ranked 37th in a list of the Top 50 Green Colleges.

“When you take some of these things all together… it’s all part of a larger picture that makes Iowa State an attractive place…” said Schweers.