San Diego State University and UC San Diego are among the top 25 colleges for LGBTQ students, according to rankings issued by BestColleges.com.

State was 11th, and UC San Diego 25th.

Two other Southern California schools were on the list, Harvey Mudd College (sixth) and UCLA (ninth).

BestColleges.com compiles rankings in dozens of categories, from “Best Online Business Degree Programs” to “America’s Best Military-Friendly Colleges.” The site’s LGBTQ rankings draw heavily from another web site, campuspride.org, which issues an annual Campus Pride Index.


State was awarded five out of five stars, with the Index noting the school’s Pride Center and that it was the second public school in North America to offer an LGBT Studies major.

UC San Diego was awarded four and a half out of five stars, and earned top marks for “LGBTQ Support & Institutional Commitment.”

The university operates an LGBT Resource Center and has several LGBTQ student organizations, including oSTEM, which focuses on this community’s research in science, technology, engineering and math.

“It is an honor to be recognized as one of the nation’s top LGBTQ-friendly campuses,” Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said in a statement issued by the school.


“As a welcoming campus committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, we know it is essential to support our LGBTQ-identified students, who are valued members of our campus community.”

The top-ranked schools were, in order: Princeton University, Tufts University, the University of Pennsylvania, MIT and the University of Washington.

Also, Harvey Mudd; University of Maryland, College Park; Williams College; UCLA and Cornell University.