The University of Rhode Island has been named the top public university in New England for the second consecutive year, according to the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings released Monday.
URI also climbed to No. 76 overall among the nation’s 584 ranked universities, moving up eight spots from last year. The Kingston-based flagship placed No. 34 among all U.S. public universities and No. 9 among public flagship universities—up from No. 12 in 2025.
The University of Connecticut was the only other New England public school to crack the top 100, coming in at No. 88…