At 135th among the Best National Universities, UC is tied with Hofstra University, Kansas State University, Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, New Yorks The New School, and Ohio University.

Cincinnati has risen regularly in the ranks since 2010, when UC entered the top tier of the U.S. News & World Reports Best National Universities list at a rank of 156. Over the past four years, UC rose 21 places on this list.

UCs rise in the rankings was spurred by improved graduation rates, improved retention of first-year students, and higher levels of donations from alumni, according to Lee Mortimer, director of UCs Institutional Research Office, which provides the data to U.S. News.

It is no accident that these data are closely tied to the goals set out in the universitys strategic plan, our Academic Master Plan, and the recently completed Proudly Cincinnati fundraising campaign, Mortimer said.

The University of Cincinnati was also listed 3rd among 23 National Universities identified as Up-and-Coming Schools by the college administrators who are surveyed by U.S. News. Administrators across the country were asked to nominate universities that recently made promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities, according to the college guide.

UCs emphasis on experiential learning earned the university a place among a dozen schools cited for quality internships in a category called A Focus On Student Success.

Schools nominated in this category require or encourage students to apply what theyre learning in the classroom to work in the real world through closely supervised internships or practicums, or through cooperative education, in which one period of study typically alternates with one of work, according to U.S. News.