The University of Miami climbed nine spots in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, placing No. 55 among national universities in the 2027 Best Colleges rankings.
Last year, UM ranked No. 64 nationally . Compared to other Florida universities, UM now ranks behind the University of Florida (No. 34) and ahead of Florida State University (No. 59). Florida International University and the University of South Florida are tied at No. 100.
“I think that this new ranking is good. It gives the University more recognition and proves that its academics and quality of education are on the rise,” said Esperanza Jimenez-Reller, a sophomore studying marine biology and ecology.
These yearly rankings evaluate universities using 17 measures of academic quality and student success, with factors including graduation and retention rates, social mobility and post-graduation earnings.
One of the biggest changes to the report this year is the addition of “Earnings by Major,” which evaluates graduates’ earnings by major four years after graduation. U.S. News said the measure is intended to provide more information about graduates’ economic outcomes and the return on their college education.
UM has an 84% six-year graduation rate and a 93% first-year retention rate, according to the report.
The 2027 data also lists UM’s acceptance rate at 17.6% with 13,241 undergraduate students. The median SAT score for UM students falls between 1,350 and 1,470.
Last year, UM’s acceptance rate was recorded at 17.55% with a median SAT score ranging from 1,350 and 1,480.
UM’s average net price is listed at $34,625 after financial aid, while its median starting salary post-grad is $61,508.
The 2027 rankings reflect broader changes to the Carnegie Classification system, which U.S. News used to organize colleges into ranking categories. The updated system changed how some universities are classified, meaning some schools are not being compared with the same groups as in previous years.
About 20% of previously ranked institutions moved into new specialized categories such as business, engineering and health.
U.S. News also expanded the number of colleges eligible for this year’s rankings because of this upgraded system. The 2027 rankings include more than 1,700 institutions, — 200 more than last year’s 1,500 — along with new rankings focused on in-state value and undergraduate economics.
Nationally, the biggest change came at the top. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology took the No. 1 spot, replacing Princeton University, which had held the top position since 2012.
U.S. News said rankings for schools that moved into different categories cannot be directly compared with the previous year’s rankings.
UM may have moved from No. 64 to No. 55, but the 2027 rankings show that where a university lands is increasingly tied to what happens to its students post-graduation.