The Wall Street Journal Again Ranks UMass Lowell the No. 1 Public University in the State

10/09/2025

Media Contacts: David Joyner, executive director, communications and digital media, David_Joyner@uml.edu and Nancy Cicco, associate director of media relations, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

LOWELL, Massachusetts – For the second time in two years, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has named UMass Lowell the No. 1 public university in the Bay State. The ranking, included in the WSJ/College Pulse 2026 Best Colleges report, comes on the heels of other accolades to the university issued by U.S. News & World Report and other institutions. 

In addition to naming UMass Lowell the best public higher-education institution in Massachusetts, The Wall Street Journal singled out the university as the state’s No. 1 best value school and No. 1 among all colleges and universities in Massachusetts in fostering social mobility among students. 

“Beyond acknowledging the world-class education UMass Lowell provides, these rankings speak to the university’s impressive return on investment, which reflects academics as well a commitment to giving students opportunities for meaningful career-connected experiences that serve as a launchpad for their professional lives,” said Chancellor Julie Chen.

To compile the rankings, The Wall Street Journal and its partners, Pulse and Statista, evaluated 584 eligible universities. This year’s process focused on one factor above all others: how well each institution sets up its graduates for financial success. The rankings focused on student outcomes such as salary impact and graduation rate, as well as diversity and responses from a survey of about 120,000 students and recent alumni. Among other factors, those results measured teaching quality and learning facilities, career preparation and how likely students were to recommend their institution to a friend.

The Wall Street Journal’s 2026 analysis reinforces high marks recently given to UMass Lowell by other organizations. Last month, U.S. News & World Report ranked UMass Lowell as the No. 1 “best value school” in Massachusetts. U.S. News also places the university at No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation for best online master’s program in criminal justice and No. 1 in New England and No. 9 in the country for the best online master’s programs in education. Other accolades include:

• No. 1 as the top public research university in Massachusetts for return on investment to bachelor’s degree recipients, as determined by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
• No. 1 for starting salaries among Massachusetts public universities, according to PayScale, with UMass Lowell graduates earning an average of $74,900 out of college. The compensation management company also lists the university as No. 2 in New England for early career pay among public research universities.
• No. 1 for sustainability in Massachusetts, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Earlier this year, the organization named UMass Lowell a platinum campus, the highest possible rating a college or university can earn through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). UMass Lowell is the only higher education institution in Massachusetts to achieve this standard, and just one of eight in the nation and one of 15 in the world.

Taken together, the rankings reflect the value and quality of UMass Lowell’s academic programs and research, which have also been recognized with the prestigious Research 1 (R1) designation identifying the nation’s top research institutions. The accolades are further influenced by UMass Lowell’s pledge to provide all students with opportunities for paid career experience – a commitment also reflected by the advancement of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), a model partnership between the university and industry focused on a 1.2-million square-foot mixed-use development that will include offices, research labs, housing, retail businesses and entertainment destinations.