CSUMB ranks highly on U.S. News & World Report 2026
SEASIDE – Cal State Monterey Bay scored highly in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings, released last month, with mentions in five different categories. Three degree programs also made national rankings.
U.S. News evaluates over 1,700 colleges and universities, based on a set of 17 criteria, including graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, affordability and outcomes for graduates, when determining their rankings.
CSUMB ranked second among regional universities in the West for social mobility, which measures how well schools enroll and graduate students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Social mobility is a key component of our mission and is critically important to the student population we serve, many of whom are first-generation college students from underserved communities,” said CSUMB President Vanya Quiñones in a press release.
The university also ranked seventh for top public universities and tied 11th with the University of Redlands for regional universities, which included private schools. CSUMB again tied with Redlands for best colleges for veterans, ranking eighth. U.S. News ranked CSUMB 32nd in best value schools.
The nursing, computer science and psychology degree programs made national rankings.
“We continue to place very high in these kinds of rankings,” Quiñones said in the press release. “We may be a smaller school, but we are strong.”
CSUMB was also recently included in rankings by Washington Monthly and Money magazines. The school ranked 48th in the nation on Washington Monthly’s 2025 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars list in August. Money magazine gave CSUMB 4.5 out of five stars in its Best Colleges in America ratings in July.
“These rankings reflect our values,” Quiñones said in the press release. “CSUMB students have access to excellent academic opportunities, empowering them to advance in their lives. Our commitment to lifting people up through education not only makes our Otter raft stronger, but also our region, and beyond.”
