The University of Texas at Austin has achieved the No. 2 spot in the 2025 college rankings published by the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. The ranking evaluated 100 public and private universities across the United States.
The methodology for these rankings considered how well universities prepare students for future success, maintain academic standards, uphold institutional integrity, support viewpoint diversity, and foster a healthy campus environment. A total of 68 factors were analyzed within four main categories: Leadership Quality, Educational Experience, Student Experience, and Outcomes.
UT Austin received a No. 2 ranking specifically for Leadership Quality, which includes factors such as protection of free speech. The university also performed strongly in Outcomes—a category that measures educational value added to careers and assesses how quickly graduates can recover their investment in tuition.
“While national rankings will never define us as an institution, they do reflect the world-class quality of our faculty and students and the excellence and rigor of our academic mission,” said William Inboden, executive vice president and provost. “At UT, we provide an unmatched educational and social experience for our students as we prepare them for both professional success and citizenship. We are honored that this ranking recognizes that and much more.”
In addition to its overall performance, UT Austin was ranked among the top ten in areas such as alumni network impact, faculty teaching quality, and student social life.
Further details about the rankings can be found at collegerankings.city-journal.org/rankings.
