FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas continues to be among the top 100 public institutions in the nation and a leader in business, engineering and computer science, a new category added this year to the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking of best colleges and universities.

This is the first year U.S. News has included computer science programs in the rankings and named the U of A among the top 140 out of 481 programs at both public and private universities.

Computer science is a growth area at the U of A with the addition of an undergraduate degree program in data science this fall. The interdisciplinary curriculum — with instruction integrated across the College of Engineering, the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the Sam M. Walton College of Business — makes the program unique among data science programs nationwide.

The continued growth of computer and data science is one of Chancellor Joe Steinmetz’s 2020 Focus on the Future priorities, which includes the establishment of the University of Arkansas Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research. The institute was established with a $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation and announced earlier this summer. The four innovation clusters created through the institute reflect some of the U of A’s strengths also found in this year’s ranking. The clusters include:  data science; food and technology; integrative systems in neuroscience; materials science and engineering; bioscience and bioengineering research in metabolism.

The U of A College of Engineering tied for 102 in the nation among public and private institutions, with University of Alabama, LSU, University of Georgia, University of Oklahoma, Univesity of South Carolina and Southern Methodist University.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business continues to be in the top 50 of all national colleges and universities, both public and private, ranked at 44th in the nation. It is tied with Boston University, University of Tennesseee, Tulane University, Florida State University and George Washington University, among others.

The U of A is joined in the 77th ranking overall among national public schools by University of Central Florida, University of Maryland and Virginia Commonwealth University, among others. The national ranking slipped slightly this year with a change in methodology that shifted focus away from two of the U of A strength areas, alumni giving rate and ACT scores of incoming freshmen.

These new rankings were part of the annual release of “Best Colleges” from U.S. News & World Report. The full rankings of this year’s “Best Colleges” can be found on the U.S. News & World Report website.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.