Business First has named UMBC one of the best U.S. public colleges and universities in a national report issued this month. The publication notes that their study “pinpoints the public universities and colleges that offer the best educational experiences to their students.”

The ranking assesses over 500 four-year higher education institutions based on 22 key indicators. These factors measure a combination of academic excellence, affordability, diversity, and the economic strength of communities.

Three Maryland institutions are featured in the top 70, including UMBC; the University of Maryland, College Park; and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Other universities featured prominently include UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, UMBC’s partners for a recently announced $6.9 million replication of UMBC’s gold-standard Meyerhoff Scholars Program. Also highlighted are Penn State and UNC Chapel Hill, UMBC’s partners for the inaugural Meyerhoff replication, whose success was just featured in Science.

A full list of the top 250 ranked public universities is available through Business First.

Featured image: Students walk down the stairs near UMBC’s Albin O. Kuhn library in April 2019. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.