UNG ranked 15th among public regional universities in the South in the 2021 rankings, up one spot from the previous year's ranking.
UNG is also the top-ranked public university in Georgia on the Best Value Schools list of Regional Universities in the South.
"Our continued ascent in national rankings highlights the dedication of our faculty and staff and the success of our outstanding students," said President Bonita C. Jacobs in a statement released just after the rankings were published. "UNG strives to prepare students to be leaders in an increasingly complex and diverse world, and our strong reputation for offering a high-quality education and experience at an affordable price adds value to their degrees."
Other accolades for UNG in the U.S. News rankings include:
- Top-ranked public university in Georgia on the Best Colleges for Veterans list of Regional Universities in the South.
- Ranked third for the least student debt load at graduation among Regional Public Universities in the South.
- Ranked seventh among public universities in Georgia on the Best Undergraduate Business Programs list
UNG serves about 20,000 students and is one of the state's largest public universities. UNG's five campuses are located across northeast Georgia in Blue Ridge, Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee County. UNG offers more than 100 programs of study, including certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and professional doctoral programs.
Brenau University
Brenau University jumped the rankings on each of the lists it was on compared to last year including The Best Regional Universities South, Best Value Schools, Campus Ethnic Diversity, Social Mobility, Economic Diversity and Best Colleges for Veterans.
Specifically, Brenau was top in the state and second in the region in Economic Diversity, as well as tying for first in Georgia in Best Colleges for Veterans. The university also ranked No. 2 in Georgia in Social Mobility and was the top university in the state and tied for sixth overall in Campus Ethnic Diversity. Finally, Brenau was ranked the No. 3 Best Regional University and No. 3 Best Value Schools in Georgia.
“While the transformative impact of a Brenau education is extremely important for our students and their families, it’s also valuable to have third party external validation that ranks us among our peers,” said Brenau President Anne Skleder. “I am especially proud of our rankings in Campus Ethnic Diversity, Social Mobility and Economic Diversity. Many Brenau students are the first in their families to attend college, and many come from underrepresented groups. We know that a college degree transforms the trajectory of the lives of our graduates and their families, and these rankings attest to our commitment to these students. And as the rankings indicate, a Brenau degree also is considered a high value investment.”
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1, Brenau is on par with some of the nation’s top universities, including the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University and New York University, to name a few. The university also has a higher percentage of small classes with 84% of its undergraduate classes having fewer than 20 students — and therefore opportunities for meaningful faculty-student interaction — which puts Brenau above Princeton University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Stanford University and Yale University in individual class size.
