The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is one of the best in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). UH Mānoa was one of 500 universities that made the WSJ/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings released in September 2024. The schools were selected out of more than 2,600 4-year colleges.
The flagship of the 10-campus UH System came in No. 302 overall and No. 127 for public universities. The WSJ ranking methodology does not account for research activity, an area in which UH Mānoa excels that increasingly provides unique opportunities for UH Mānoa undergraduate students.
“There are any number of higher education rankings out there, and they use different methodologies to produce different numbers,” said UH President David Lassner. “But UH Mānoa is consistently well-ranked every year, providing external validation of what we know—that UH Mānoa is one of the best universities in the world.”
WSJ ranking methodology
The WSJ rankings were developed in collaboration with College Pulse and Statista and are based on:
- Student outcomes (salary impact, years to pay off net price, graduation rate impact)
- Student and alumni survey (learning opportunities, preparation for career, learning facilities, recommendation score and character score)
- Diversity (opportunities to interact with students from different backgrounds, ethnic diversity, inclusion of students with lower family earnings)
More than 54,000 students and alumni were surveyed online for the ranking between January and May 2024.
Research that matters
UH Mānoa brought in a record $464.9 million in extramural funding in fiscal year 2024 and was No. 91 out of the top 633 research institutions in the U.S., according to National Science Foundation data released in February 2024.
“It is important to note that the Wall Street Journal ranking does not account for the fact that we are one of the top research universities in the world and the impact that it has on so many of our students,” said Lassner.
The UH Mānoa Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program coordinates and promotes opportunities for undergraduate students across all disciplines to engage in mentored research and creative work.
Other 2024 rankings
UH Mānoa is among the world’s best for academic, faculty, research and sustainability excellence, according to the 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings by global higher educational analyst Quacquarelli Symonds released June 4. It came in No. 73 among U.S. institutions (out of more than 2,600 4-year institutions) and No. 488 in the world (out of more than 25,000 worldwide colleges and universities).
UH Mānoa also earned a spot on The Princeton Review’s “Best 390 Colleges for 2025” list announced on August 27. The ranking is based on surveys completed by 168,000 students nationwide that covered academics, amenities, campus services, extracurriculars and more.
