FAMU breaks into USNWR's Top 80 ranking as seven-year run as No. 1 public HBCU ends

Three Key Takeaways

• Historic high: FAMU jumped 13 spots to No. 79 among public universities, breaking into the Top 80 for the first time.

• National climb: FAMU rose 13 places to No. 156 among all public and private universities.

• HBCU shift: FAMU fell from No. 5 to a tie for No. 6 among HBCUs, ending its seven-year run as the nation’s top-ranked public HBCU.

  
  

FAMU moved up in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, released today, even as it lost ground in the HBCU standings.

FAMU climbed 13 spots to No. 79 among the nation’s 845 public four-year universities, breaking into the Top 80 for the first time. It also rose 13 places to No. 156 nationally among roughly 5,700 public and private universities.

FAMU’s No. 79 public universities ranking ties it with the University of Alabama, Oregon State University, Kansas State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, California State University–Fullerton, and CUNY–City College.

Notably, FAMU ranks ahead of four SEC public universities — LSU (No. 88), Ole Miss (No. 93), Mississippi State and Arkansas .

FAMU is the highest-ranked HBCU in the 2027 U.S. News public-university rankings. North Carolina A&T State University, the next-highest-ranked public HBCU, is No. 116.  Among National Universities, which is the overall ranking, FAMU (No. 156) was the second highest ranked HBCU behind Howard University which ranked No. 73.

A changing HBCU hierarchy

The HBCU rankings tell a different story.

FAMU fell from No. 5 last year to a tie for No. 6 this year with Hampton University, ending a seven-year run as the nation’s highest-ranked public HBCU.

North Carolina A&T moved ahead of FAMU at No. 5, becoming the highest-ranked of the nation's 50 public HBCUs.

The latest HBCU rankings are led by:

• No. 1 — Spelman College, private

• No. 2 — Howard University, private

• No. 3 — Tuskegee University, private

• No. 4 — Morehouse College, private

• No. 5 — North Carolina A&T State University, public

• No. 6 — Florida A&M University and Hampton University, tied

• No. 8 — Morgan State University, public

• No. 9 — Xavier University of Louisiana, private

• No. 10 — Claflin University, private

The two sets of rankings offer a split picture of FAMU’s standing. The university reached a historic high among all public universities nationally while surrendering its seven-year hold as the highest-ranked public HBCU.

For FAMU, the latest rankings bring both a record-setting climb and the end of an era.