Stevens Institute of Technology has moved up 21 spots in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2027 National Universities rankings, now number 59, making it the third-highest-ranked university in New Jersey. The jump comes as U.S. News introduces changes to both its ranking system and how it classifies colleges.
The 2027 rankings place greater emphasis on student outcomes, including graduation and retention, social mobility, and graduates’ earnings. One of the biggest changes is a new earnings measure that compares graduates’ four-year earnings with those of graduates in the same field nationwide. The measure uses data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and replaces graduate indebtedness.
The classification system also changed this year. About one-fifth of the colleges evaluated had been moved into different categories under a new system developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education. U.S. News made a note saying that a change in classification does not necessarily represent a change in a college’s academic quality. These changes coincide with significant movement among other New Jersey schools. Princeton University remains at No.2 nationally, followed by Rutgers University-New Brunswick at No. 44 and Stevens at No.59.
Stevens’ rise is particularly notable because the university gained more positions than any other school in the national top 100. According to Stevens, the university now ranks among the top 14% of 422 national universities included in the rankings. It also rose to No. 32 for Most Innovative Schools and No. 65 in Best Value.
The university points to career outcomes as one factor behind its performance. Stevens reported that 93% of its Class of 2025 achieved their desired outcome, which was either employment or graduate school within six months of graduation. The university also reported that 83% of employed graduates had completed an internship, co-op, or summer research experience before graduating.
Stevens’ rise reflects more than a change in its position on a list. It also comes as U.S. News changes how it measures colleges, placing increased emphasis on what happens to students during and after their college career. With factors such as graduation rates, social mobility, and post-graduate earnings playing a larger role in the rankings, schools are being evaluated through different measures than in years prior. For Stevens, those changes coincide with a 21-spot jump into the national top 60. As the new methodology takes effect, the 2027 rankings provide a picture of how New Jersey’s colleges compare and what factors are being used to measure their performance.
