Purdue falls one spot in US News’ best colleges

Purdue University was nudged from its spot among the top 20 public universities, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2016 “Best Colleges” rankings released Wednesday.

The institution fell one spot to No. 21 behind several Big Ten schools, including Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan universities. Purdue, Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana and Michigan State universities all landed within the top 30.

Purdue ranked 61st among public and private universities. Northwestern University ranked 13th, higher than any other Big Ten school.

Purdue’s College of Engineering was once again recognized, ranking ninth among schools offering doctoral degrees in the field. Purdue was listed first in biological/agricultural engineering, third in industrial/manufacturing engineering, fourth in aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering and fifth in civil engineering.

Krannert School of Management ranked 22nd in a list of top business programs. The school was listed third in production/operations management.

Purdue and Wabash College were mentioned in a list of “A+ Schools for B Students” — a ranking of top schools that accepted “a meaningful proportion of applications whose test scores and class standing put them in non-A territory,” according to U.S. News.

Wabash also ranked 61st among the best national liberal arts colleges.

How did the Big Ten stack up?

Here’s where the Big Ten landed in U.S. News’ 2016 ranking of national universities:

No. 12: Northwestern University

No. 29: University of Michigan

No. 41: University of Illinois and University of Wisconsin (tie)

No. 47: Penn State University

No. 52: Ohio State University

No. 57: University of Maryland

No. 61: Purdue University

No. 69: University of Minnesota

No. 72: Rutgers University

No. 75: Indiana University and Michigan State University (tie)

No. 82: University of Iowa

No. 103: University of Nebraska