2025 Best Colleges: Here's how Georgia schools were ranked

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Emory University Oxford College campus (Emory University)

ATLANTA - The U.S. News & World Report has released its 2025 Best Colleges rankings, evaluating 1,500 colleges and universities across 17 different areas based on data reported by schools and other sources.

Here is a breakdown of how the major colleges and universities in the state of Georgia were ranked.

Top Performers in Georgia

Once again, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, and Spelman College performed well.

Emory University was ranked the highest in Georgia, at No. 24 among national universities. Emory has an undergraduate enrollment of 7,359, with 2023 tuition and fees totaling $64,280.
Georgia Tech was ranked at No. 33, and the University of Georgia moved up one position to No. 46.
Mercer University jumped five spots to No. 156; Georgia State University moved up 31 spots to No. 196; and Augusta University rose 36 spots to No. 296.

Other Georgia schools on the national list include:

Georgia Southern University, No. 342
Clark Atlanta University, No. 352
University of West Georgia, No. 371
Kennesaw State University, Brenau University (Gainesville), and Valdosta State University were ranked in the 392–434 range.

Top-Ranked HBCUs

Spelman College was named the top historically Black college in the nation for the 18th consecutive year.
Morehouse College ranked No. 5 among HBCUs, and Clark Atlanta moved up two spots to No. 19.
Other notable HBCU rankings: Fort Valley State University, No. 35; Albany State University, No. 40; Savannah State University, No. 51; and Paine College, ranked in the 70–77 range.

Liberal Arts Colleges

Spelman College and Agnes Scott College ranked No. 40 and No. 63 respectively in the liberal arts category.
Morehouse College was ranked No. 95.
Covenant College (Lookout Mountain) was ranked No. 119, Oglethorpe University was No. 153, and Paine and Young Harris colleges ranked in the 187–204 range.

Regional Universities in the South

Berry College in Georgia ranked No. 4 on the best regional university list for the southeastern U.S.
Savannah College of Art and Design was ranked No. 8; Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville was No. 15; and the University of Georgia ranked No. 47.

Other regional rankings included:

Fort Valley State University, No. 62
Columbus State University and Piedmont University, No. 65
Clayton State University, No. 86
Albany State University, No. 97
Georgia Southwestern State University, No. 104
Savannah State University, No. 112
Middle Georgia State University and Shorter University, No. 115
Life University, No. 117
Thomas University, ranked in the 122–133 range.

First-Year Experiences

Several Georgia colleges ranked highly for first-year experiences:

Agnes Scott College, No. 3
Georgia State University, No. 4
Morehouse College, No. 33
Berry College, No. 36

Learning Communities

Georgia State University, No. 2
Agnes Scott College, No. 6
Spelman College, No. 8

Undergraduate Teaching

Georgia State University was ranked the top public university for Undergraduate Teaching for the fifth straight year.

Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects

Georgia Tech ranked No. 8.
Agnes Scott College and Georgia State University tied at No. 42.

Special Notes

Georgia State University ranked for the first time on three additional lists: International Business (No. 24), Study Abroad (No. 27), and Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects (No. 42).
Georgia State also ranked No. 5 for innovation, No. 15 for social mobility, and No. 74 for nursing.
Georgia Tech was ranked No. 2 for most innovative.
Emory University was ranked No. 1 for its undergraduate nursing program and No. 22 for best value.
Mercer University also made the best value list, ranking No. 40.