All 18 Big Ten schools ranked academically by U.S. News for 2026

BADGERS

All 18 Big Ten schools ranked academically by U.S. News for 2026-27

Jordon LawrenzBadgers Wire
July 11, 2026, 6:02 a.m. CT

Every year, U.S. News & World Report publishes an academic ranking of all United States universities, including yearly tuition, enrollment and acceptance rates. In total, 15 of the 18 Big Ten programs rank among the top 100 academically heading into the 2026-2027 school year

The Big Ten has one school among the top 10 while 12 are in the top 50

Overall, the Wisconsin Badgers hold up nicely and are up there with the likes of the conference’s newest additions, the University of Southern California and the University of California – Los Angeles

To no surprise, the same school once again claimed the top spot. In fact, none of the top four schools saw any movement

No. 18 University of Nebraska – Lincoln

2025 Big Ten Rank: 18

Undergraduate enrollment: 19,701

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 152

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 158

In-state cost: $10,434

No. 17: University of Oregon

City: Eugene, OR

2025 Big Ten Rank: 17

Undergraduate enrollment: 20,622

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 109

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 110

In-state cost: $15,904

No. 16: University of Iowa

City: Iowa City, IA

2025 Big Ten Rank: 16

Undergraduate enrollment: 22,738

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 98

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 102

In-state cost: $11,622

No. 15: Indiana University – Bloomington

City: Bloomington, IN

2025 Big Ten Rank: 15

Undergraduate enrollment: 38,093

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 73

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 73

In-state cost: $12,144

No. 14: Michigan State University

City: East Lansing, MI

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-13

Undergraduate enrollment: 41,234

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 63

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 64

In-state cost: $19,742

T-No. 13: Penn State University – University Park

City: University Park, PA

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-13

Undergraduate enrollment: 42,619

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 63

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 59

In-state cost: $21,098

T-No. 13: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

City: Minneapolis, MN

2025 Big Ten Rank: 12

Undergraduate enrollment: 41,303

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 54

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 59

In-state cost: $18,482

No. 11: Purdue University – Main Campus

City: West Lafayette, IN

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-10

Undergraduate enrollment: 44,819

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 46

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 46

In-state cost: $9,992

T-No. 10: Rutgers University – New Brunswick

City: Piscataway, NJ

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-7

Undergraduate enrollment: 37,985

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 41

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 42

In-state cost: $18,827

T-No. 10: University of Maryland, College Park

City: College Park, MD

2025 Big Ten Rank: 9

Undergraduate enrollment: 31,133

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 44

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 42

In-state cost: $11,809

T-No. 10: University of Washington

City: Seattle, WA

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-10

Undergraduate enrollment: 40,754

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 46

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 42

In-state cost: $13,406

No. 7: The Ohio State University

City: Columbus, OH

2025 Big Ten Rank: T-7

Undergraduate enrollment: 46,815

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 41

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 41

In-state cost: $13,641

T-No. 6: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

City: Champaign, IL

2025 Big Ten Rank: 5

Undergraduate enrollment: 37,140

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 33

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 36

In-state cost: $18,046

T-No. 6: University of Wisconsin – Madison

City: Madison, WI

2025 Big Ten Rank: 6

Undergraduate enrollment: 23,181

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 39

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 36

In-state cost: $16,035

No. 4: University of Southern California

City: Los Angeles, CA

2025 Big Ten Rank: 4

Undergraduate enrollment: 20,630

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 27

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 28

Cost: $75,162

No. 3: University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

City: Ann Arbor, MI

2025 Big Ten Rank: 3

Undergraduate enrollment: 34,454

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 21

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 20

In-state cost: $19,497

No. 2: University of California – Los Angeles

City: Los Angeles, CA

2025 Big Ten Rank: 2

Undergraduate enrollment: 33,471

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 15

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 17

In-state cost: $14,824

No. 1: Northwestern University

City: Evanston, IL

2025 Big Ten Rank: 1

Undergraduate enrollment: 9,060

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2025: No. 6

U.S. News & World Report ranking 2026: No. 7

Cost: $70,589

National schools ahead of Northwestern

Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Princeton University

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