The University of Hawaiʻi’s three 4-year universities earned high marks in the U.S. News and World Report 2025 Best Colleges rankings released on September 24, including three top 5 rankings for UH West Oʻahu, a top 10 national ranking for UH Hilo and UH Mānoa, and a top 20 national ranking for the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business’ international business program.
All of UH Mānoa, UH Hilo and UH West Oʻahu ranked among the top 1,500 4-year institutions by U.S. News and World Report out of approximately 2,630 4-year institutions nationwide based on up to 17 measures (depending on ranking category) of academic quality, including graduation and retention rates, peer assessments, financial resources and student excellence.
“These rankings underscore our success in continuing to elevate our program quality and outcomes as we improve financial sustainability while containing costs and improving value to our students,” said UH President David Lassner. “As the state’s sole provider of public higher education, we take great pride in our mission to serve communities across the islands as we prepare the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s leaders through our commitment to continuous improvement in student access and success for all.”
UH Mānoa
UH Mānoa tied for No. 7 among national universities for ethnic diversity, a ranking that identifies colleges where students are most likely to encounter undergraduates from racial or ethnic groups different from their own. UH Mānoa’s diversity index score was 0.75. The ethnic categories used in the calculations are non-Hispanic African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian, Asian, non-Hispanic white and multiracial (two or more races).
The flagship campus of the UH System also ranked No. 92 as a top U.S. public university; No. 171 overall in the country; No. 187 as a best value school; No. 218 in social mobility, which measures how well schools graduated students who were federal Pell Grant recipients; and No. 120 for best colleges for veterans.
The Shidler College of Business came in at No. 20 for international business programs and No. 127 among the best undergraduate business programs out of 532 ranked undergraduate business programs.
The Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing is the No. 96 best undergraduate nursing program among 686 ranked undergraduate nursing programs.
The College of Engineering placed No. 139 among the best undergraduate engineering programs that offer doctoral degrees in the U.S., and the Information and Computer Sciences Department ranked as the No. 145 best undergraduate computer science program out of 584 ranked programs.
The Department of Economics ranked No. 161 for best undergraduate economics programs in the nation, and the Department of Psychology placed No. 229 out of the nation’s top 681 undergraduate psychology programs. Both departments are housed in the College of Social Sciences.
UH Hilo
UH Hilo stands out in several key areas. It ranks among the most ethnically diverse universities in the country, earning a diversity index score of 0.76, just behind top schools like Stanford and Johns Hopkins (0.77).
In addition, UH Hilo ranked No. 111 for social mobility out of the top 433 national universities, a classification based on offering a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, emphasizing research, as explained in the rankings categories below. UH Hilo also placed No. 188 as a top U.S. public university and No. 352 overall among national universities.
UH Hilo’s School of Nursing is the No. 182 best undergraduate nursing program in the country, the College of Business and Economics placed No. 281 among the 532 best undergraduate business programs, and the Department of Psychology ranked No. 293 of the best 681 undergraduate psychology programs.
UH West Oʻahu
UH West Oʻahu placed No. 2 among regional colleges in the West for ethnic diversity, ranked No. 3 for best public colleges in the West, No. 4 for best colleges for veterans among regional colleges in the West, No. 6 for least student debt among regional colleges in the West, No. 10 overall among regional colleges in the West (five spots higher than last year) and No. 13 for social mobility for regional colleges in the West (13 spots higher than last year).
Ranking categories
UH Mānoa and UH Hilo were included in the national universities category, which featured institutions that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, master’s and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates. UH West Oʻahu is in the regional colleges in the West category, which includes schools that focus on undergraduate education and grant fewer than 50% of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.
—By Marc Arakaki
