U.S. News & World Report unveiled its updated college and university academic rankings for 2026 earlier this week, giving us a fresh batch of numbers to look at.
As one of the predominant conferences in all of college athletics, the Big Ten also has some universities ranked among the best academically in the nation.
Within those rankings, where does every Big Ten school stand?
The 18-member conference recently added several former Pac-12 members, Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. Those additions made a significant impact on the conference’s athletic landscape, especially on the football field. So far, the Ducks have been the most impressive of the bunch, ranking No. 2 in the nation through five weeks. However, the academic part should not be discounted; some of those new members instantly joined the conference’s top academic tier, at least according to U.S. News.
As a reminder, U.S. News evaluates schools by their graduation and retention rates, graduate success, academic resources and more. Here is where every Big Ten member stands in the outlet’s updated academic rankings, plus how each ranking compares to last year’s hierarchy.
City: Lincoln, Nebraska
National ranking: No. 158 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 87%
Get more (Nebraska) news, analysis and opinions on Cornhuskers Wire
City: Eugene, Oregon
National ranking: No. 110 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 85%
Get more (Oregon) news, analysis and opinions on Ducks Wire
City: Iowa City, Iowa
National ranking: No. 102 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 84%
Get more (Iowa) news, analysis and opinions on Hawkeyes Wire
City: Bloomington, Indiana
National ranking: No. 73 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 78%
City: East Lansing, Michigan
National ranking: No. 64 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 85%
Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire
City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
National ranking: No. 59 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 80%
City: University Park, Pennsylvania
National ranking: No. 59 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 61%
Get more (Penn State) news, analysis and opinions on Nittany Lions Wire
City: West Lafayette, Indiana
National ranking: No. 46 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 50%
City: Seattle, Washington
National ranking: No. 42 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 39%
Get more (Washington) news, analysis and opinions on Huskies Wire
City: College Park, Maryland
National ranking: No. 42 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 45%
City: Piscataway, New Jersey
National ranking: No. 42 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 41%
City: Columbus, Ohio
National ranking: No. 41
Acceptance rate: 61%
Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire
City: Champaign, Illinois
National ranking: No. 36 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 42%
City: Madison, Wisconsin
National ranking: No. 36 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 45%
City: Los Angeles, California
National ranking: No. 28
Acceptance rate: 10%
Get more (USC) news, analysis and opinions onTrojans Wire
City: Ann Arbor, Michigan
National ranking: No. 20 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 16%
Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions onWolverines Wire
City: Los Angeles, California
National ranking: No. 17 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 9%
Get more (UCLA) news, analysis and opinions onUCLA Wire
City: Evanston, Illinois
National ranking: No. 7 (tied)
Acceptance rate: 8%
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.