Clemson University named best university in South Carolina in U.S. News & World Report 2026 rankings
September 30, 2025
Clemson University ranks as the best national and public university in South Carolina in the U.S. News & World Report 2026 rankings, coming in at No. 36 among all public universities — climbing 3 spots from last year.
Clemson also claims top 25 rankings among public schools nationally for Co-Ops/Internships (No. 4), First-Year Experience (No. 9), Most Innovative Schools (No. 14) and Best Undergraduate Teaching (No. 22).
Several individual programs at Clemson also rank highly among public schools, including Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering Programs (No. 12), Civil Engineering Programs (No. 21) and Undergraduate Nursing Programs (No. 27).
U.S. News publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with the comparative merits of the undergraduate programs at America’s colleges and universities. The rankings offer detailed information of the institutions and data on factors such as graduation rates, graduate indebtedness and post-graduate earnings.
“The value of a Clemson degree has never been higher,” said Bob Jones, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. “While our focus remains squarely on our students and the citizens of South Carolina, external rankings can provide validation of the efforts of our outstanding faculty and staff.”
Recently, Forbes named Clemson as the best university in the state and No. 33 nationally among public colleges. Forbes’ list came on the heels of Niche naming Clemson as the Best College in South Carolina, earning top marks for Best Academics, Best Professors and Best College Athletics among all universities in the Palmetto State.
Niche also ranked Clemson as the No. 27 Top Public University nationally.
Niche’s recognition followed several recent accolades from The Princeton Review, which named Clemson as one of the best colleges in the South, a Best Value College, No. 6 Best Alumni Networks (Public Schools), No. 11 Best Schools for Internships (Public Schools), No. 16 Students Love Their School Teams, No. 24 Best Athletic Facilities and No. 20 Best Career Services.
