BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University has seen strong growth in key priority areas of student success and opportunity and transformative research and creativity, according to the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings, which were released today. This growth represents significant progress toward the IU 2030 strategic plan goals.
Also, the university’s undergraduate business program at the Kelley School of Business ranked ninth nationally and No. 1 in the state of Indiana, in addition to having seven specialty programs in the top 10.
Overall, IU scored 34th among public universities in the Best Colleges rankings.
“The data that informs these rankings tells the story of Indiana University’s dedication to the success of our students, the impact of our research and our service to the state,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “We are strongly committed to the quality of our student support services, our research enterprise and our academic programs, including IU’s top-ranked undergraduate business program, which continues to be recognized as one of the best in the nation, producing leaders who guide private enterprises across the Hoosier state and beyond.”
In the category of “social mobility rank,” IU leapt up 59 points overall from its 2024 ranking among ranked universities nationally. Social mobility rankings are based on two distinct ranking factors assessing the graduation rates and graduation performance of students who receive Pell Grants, a federal grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education to undergraduate students with exceptional financial need.
Among regional campuses, IU South Bend and IU East were ranked in the top 50 for social mobility at 44th.
“The progress we are seeing is a direct result of IU’s focus on student success, and our full community’s collective efforts to build an environment where students can reach their fullest potential,” said Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, IU vice president for student success. “I am proud of the gains our students have made, because it is a strong sign that IU’s ongoing efforts to increase support and opportunities for all students are working.”
Among the key student priorities targeted by the Office of the Vice President for Student Success in 2024-25 are improving undergraduate academic advising, increasing retention of priority student populations, removing barriers to student well-being, improving the academic experience for undergraduate students and improving student experiences with career development.
IU’s bibliometric rank — already in the top 50 nationally — also saw a notable increase from 48th in 2024 to 40th in 2025. A measure of faculty’s research influence, this score is based on four “ranking factors” related to citation rates and scholarly impact, including overall citation rates and citation rates in some of the world’s top academic journals.
“This ranking is a strong signal that researchers across the country and beyond are looking toward IU faculty’s insights in their own pursuit of new knowledge,” said Russell J. Mumper, IU vice president for research. “They are a significant sign of IU’s research impact and our faculty’s influence upon their peers.”
IU’s top priorities in the areas of research include leading the state of Indiana’s research and development ecosystem; improving lives of Hoosiers through high-impact research and creativity; prioritizing entrepreneurship and commercialization though research disclosures and licensing; and expanding community-engaged research and scholarship.
The Kelley School of Business scored ninth among nationally ranked public and private universities for its undergraduate business programs — the highest in the state.
In addition, the Kelley School had seven programs rank in the top 10 nationally in U.S. News’ specialty business program rankings: accounting at No. 4, entrepreneurship at No. 5, finance at No. 10, management at No. 7, management information systems at No. 8, marketing at No. 3 and production/operations management at No. 10.
“The success of our undergraduate program rankings is reflected in the success of our students and alumni — and results from our long history of consistency providing high-quality business education,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and the Sungkyunkwan Professor. “After more than 100 years of offering innovative business programs, Kelley students are connected to one of the world’s largest business school alumni networks, with more than 130,000 living alumni who work at leading companies around the globe. Our school’s undergraduate program has consistently been ranked among the very best, along with many of our disciplines.”
In addition to its highly ranked undergraduate business programs, U.S. News recognized the Kelley School earlier this year as the No. 1 online MBA program in the country. In total, U.S. News has recognized the IU Kelley School of Business’ online MBA program as the best in the country eight times since 2013, when it first began to rank online programs.
The business undergraduate program and undergraduate specialty business program rankings are based on the input of leadership from institutions that participate in U.S. News’ peer assessment survey.
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