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Founded | 1948 | (merger of United States News [1933] and World Report [1946])
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Owner | U.S. News & World Report, L.P. (Mortimer Zuckerman) |
Website | www |
U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) is an American media company publishing news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. The company was launched in 1948 as the merger of domestic-focused weekly newspaper U.S. News and international-focused weekly magazine World Report. In 1995, the company launched 'usnews.com' and in 2010, the magazine ceased printing except with its ranking editions. [3] [4]
The company's rankings of American colleges and universities are popular with the general public [5] and influence application patterns. [6]
Following the closure of United States Daily , which was published between 1926 and 1933, David Lawrence (1888–1973) founded the newspaper United States News in 1933, which was converted to magazine format in 1940.
In 1946, Lawrence founded the magazine World Report. The two magazines covered national and international news separately. In 1948, Lawrence merged them into U.S. News & World Report. [7] He subsequently sold the magazine to his employees. The magazine initially tended to be slightly more conservative than its two primary competitors, Time and Newsweek , and focused more on economic, health, and education stories. It also eschewed sports, entertainment, and celebrity news. [8]
Important milestones in the early history of the magazine include the introduction of the "Washington Whispers" column in 1934, and the "News You Can Use" column in 1952. [9] [10] In 1958, the weekly magazine's circulation passed one million and reached two million by 1973. [9]
Since 1983, U.S. News & World Report has been known primarily for its influential ranking and annual reports of colleges and graduate schools, spanning across most fields and subjects. U.S. News & World Report is America's oldest and best-known ranker of academic institutions, [11] and covers the fields of business, law, medicine, engineering, education, social sciences and public affairs, in addition to many other areas. [12] Its print edition was consistently included in national bestseller lists, augmented by online subscriptions. Additional rankings published by U.S. News & World Report include hospitals, medical specialties and automobiles.
In October 1984, New York City-based publisher and real estate developer Mortimer Zuckerman purchased U.S. News & World Report. [10] Zuckerman had owned the New York Daily News . In 1993, U.S. News & World Report entered the digital world by providing content to CompuServe and in 1995, the website usnews.com was launched.
In 2001, the website won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online. [13]
In 2007, U.S. News & World Report published its first list of the nation's best high schools. Its ranking methodology included state test scores and the success of poor and minority students on these exams, and schools' performance in Advanced Placement exams.
Starting in June 2008, the magazine reduced its publication frequency in three steps. In June 2008, citing a decline overall in magazine circulation and advertising, U.S. News & World Report announced that it would become a biweekly publication, starting January 2009. [14] It hoped advertisers would be attracted to the schedule, which allowed ads to stay on newsstands a week longer. However, five months later the magazine changed its frequency again, becoming monthly. [15] In August 2008, U.S. News expanded and revamped its online opinion section. [16] The new version of the opinion page included daily new op-ed content as well as the new Thomas Jefferson Street blog. [17]
An internal memo was sent to the magazine's staff on November 5, 2010, informing them that, the "December issue will be our last print monthly sent to subscribers, whose remaining print and digital replica subscriptions will be filled by other publishers." [18] The memo went on to say that the publication would be moving to a primarily digital format but that it would continue to print special issues such as "the college and grad guides, as well as hospital and personal finance guides".
Prior to ending physical publication, U.S. News was generally the third-ranked general United States-based news magazine after Time and Newsweek. [19] A weekly digital magazine, U.S. News Weekly, introduced in January 2009, [20] continued to offer subscription content until it ceased at the end of April 2015. [21]
The company is owned by U.S. News & World Report, L.P., a privately held company, with its editorial headquarters in Washington, D.C., and its advertising, sales, and corporate offices in New York City and New Jersey. [9] The company's move to the Web made it possible for U.S. News & World Report to expand its service journalism with the introduction of several consumer-facing rankings products.
In 2013, the company returned to profitability. [22]
The leadership team includes executive chairman Eric Gertler, president and chief executive officer William Holiber, chief financial officer and chief operating operating officer Neil Maheshwari, and Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer. Brian Kelly was the chief content officer from April 2007 to August 2019. The company is owned by media proprietor Mortimer Zuckerman.
The first of U.S. News & World Report's rankings was its "Who Runs America?" surveys. These ran in the spring of each year from 1974 to 1986. The magazine would have a cover typically featuring persons selected by the USN & WR as being the ten most powerful persons in the United States. Every single edition of the series listed the President of the United States as the most powerful person, but the #2 position included such persons as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (1974), [23] Federal Reserve Chairmen Paul Volcker and Arthur Burns (each listed multiple years) and U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (1979). [24] While most of the top ten each year were officials in government, occasionally others were included, including TV anchormen Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather, Chase Manhattan Bank Chairman David Rockefeller, AFL–CIO leader George Meany, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. The only woman to make the top ten list was First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1980. [25]
In addition to these overall top ten persons, the publication also included top persons in each of several fields, including education, business, finance, journalism, and other areas. The survey was discontinued after its 1986 edition.
The U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking is an annual set of rankings of colleges and universities in the United States, first published in 1983. It has been described as the most influential institutional ranking in the country.
The Best Colleges Rankings have raised significant controversy, and they have been widely denounced by many higher education experts. [26] Detractors argue that they rely on self-reported, sometimes fraudulent data by the institutions, [27] [28] [29] [30] encourage gamesmanship by institutions looking to improve their rank, [31] imply a false precision by deriving an ordinal ranking from questionable data, [32] contribute to the admissions frenzy by unduly highlighting prestige, [33] and ignore individual fit by comparing institutions with widely diverging missions on the same scale. [34]
Columbia University was removed from the 2022 rankings after it was found to have misreported data in a report by mathematician Michael Thaddeus. The remaining "national universities" were not renumbered. [35]In October 2014, U.S. News & World Report published its inaugural "Best Global Universities" rankings. [36] Inside Higher Ed noted that U.S. News is entering into the international college and university rankings area that is already "dominated by three major global university rankings", namely the Times Higher Education World University Rankings , the Academic Ranking of World Universities , and the QS World University Rankings . [37] Robert Morse, "U.S. News's chief data strategist," stated that "it's natural for U.S. News to get into this space." [37] Morse also noted that U.S. News "will also be the first American publisher to enter the global rankings space". [37]
Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report has compiled the Best Hospitals rankings. [38] The Best Hospitals rankings are specifically based on a different methodology that looks at difficult (high acuity) cases within 16 specialties, including cancer; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; gastroenterology; geriatrics; gynecology; heart and heart surgery; kidney disorders; neurology and neurosurgery; ophthalmology; orthopedics; psychiatry; pulmonology; rehabilitation; rheumatology; and urology. [39] [40] In addition to rankings for each of these specialties, hospitals that excel in many U.S. News areas are ranked in the Honor Roll. [38]
Since 2007, U.S. News has developed an innovative rankings system for new and used automobiles. The rankings span over 30 classes of cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, wagons, and sports cars. Each automobile receives an overall score, as well as a performance, interior, and recommendation score to the nearest tenth on a 1–10 scale. Scores are based on the consensus opinion of America's trusted automotive experts, as well as reliability and safety data. [41] U.S. News also produces annual "Best Cars for the Money" and "Best Cars for Families" awards across approximately 20 classes of cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans. Money award winners are derived by combining vehicle price and five-year cost of ownership with the opinion of the automotive press, [42] while family awards are tabulated by combining critics' opinions with the vehicle's availability of family-friendly features and interior space, as well as safety and reliability data. Money and family award winners are announced in February and March of each year, respectively. [43]
In 2017, U.S. News published its first ranking of all 50 U.S. states, incorporating metrics in seven categories: health care, education, crime and corrections, infrastructure, opportunity, economy, and government. The weighting of the individual categories in determining overall rank was informed by surveys on what matters most to residents. Massachusetts occupied the top rank, and Louisiana ranked worst. [44]
In 2018, the eight categories were: health care, education, economy, opportunity, infrastructure, crime & corrections, fiscal stability, and quality of life. Iowa occupied the top rank, and Louisiana ranked worst. [45]
In 2019, natural environment replaced the quality of life category. Washington occupied the top rank, and Louisiana ranked worst. [46]
The ranking was not published in 2020. In 2021, Washington, Minnesota, and Utah topped the list, while New Mexico, Mississippi, and Louisiana ranked worst. [47]
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It conducts research and teaching in medical and biological sciences.
Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been coeducational since the 1971–72 academic year. As of 2019, the university had 5,047 undergraduate students and 1,802 graduate students.
The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a medical school. As of 2020, the university's enrollment exceeded 16,000 students. It is the largest university and third largest college in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
College and university rankings order institutions in higher education based on factors that vary depending on the ranking. Some rankings evaluate institutions within a single country, while others assess institutions worldwide. Rankings are typically conducted by magazines, newspapers, websites, governments, or academics. In addition to ranking entire institutions, specific programs, departments, and schools can be ranked. Some rankings consider measures of wealth, excellence in research, selective admissions, and alumni success. Rankings may also consider various combinations of measures of specialization expertise, student options, award numbers, internationalization, graduate employment, industrial linkage, historical reputation and other criteria.
Baruch College is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates undergraduate and postgraduate programs through the Zicklin School of Business, the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1969 in the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest single employer, with more than 24,200 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Stanford University Medical Center is a medical complex which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the United States and serves as a teaching hospital for the Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2022–23, it was ranked by the US News as the 3rd-best hospital in California and 10th-best in the country.
California State University, Fresno is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 bachelor's degree program, 45 master's degree programs, 3 doctoral degree programs, 12 certificates of advanced study, and 2 different teaching credentials. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". Fresno is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and is eligible to be designated as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander serving institution (AANAPISI).
The Paul Merage School of Business is the business school at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). It is one of the university's 14 academic units. The current Dean is Ian O. Williamson. The school confers Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), degrees Master of Accountancy (MPAc) program, Master of Science in Biotechnology Management (MSBTM), Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM), and Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.
The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick, and Somerville, New Jersey, and serves as a flagship hospital of RWJBarnabas Health.
The Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), formerly the College of Information Science and Technology or iSchool, is one of the primary colleges of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The College of Computing & Informatics has faculty and administrative offices, research laboratories, collaborative learning spaces, and classrooms at 3675 Market Street. Its current dean is Yi Deng.
Criticism of college and university rankings refers to movements which developed among faculty and administrators in institutions of higher education in the United States as well as in Canada. The arguments of those who criticize the U.S. News & World Report Best College Ranking are that it is not possible to come with a single number that characterizes university performance. Furthermore, ratings can be easily manipulated and include such subjective characteristics as the "reputation" determined by surveying university administrators such as chancellors or deans. Critics say rankings have incentivized institutions to encourage more unqualified students to apply and are a better measure of the abilities students had when they arrived than what they learned from higher education.
The Frank G. Zarb School of Business, located at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, is noted for its dual AACSB accreditations in business and accounting. The school is named after alumnus Frank Zarb, '57 B.B.A., '62 M.B.A., who was the chair and CEO of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and a senior partner of Lazard Freres & Co. The current dean of the business school is Dr. Janet A. Lenaghan.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is an undergraduate and graduate institution at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. According to U.S. News & World Report, the School of Nursing at Penn is among the top-ranked undergraduate and graduate nursing schools in the United States. The School of Nursing receives approximately $480 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, making it among the most highly funded nursing schools in the country.
College and university rankings in the United States order the best U.S. colleges and universities based on factors that vary depending on the ranking. Rankings are typically conducted by magazines, newspapers, websites, governments, or academics. In addition to ranking entire institutions, specific programs, departments, and schools can be ranked. Some rankings consider measures of wealth, excellence in research, selective admissions, and alumni success. There is also much debate about rankings' interpretation, accuracy, and usefulness.
The Virginia Tech College of Engineering is the academic unit that manages engineering research and education at Virginia Tech. The College can trace its origins to 1872, and was formally established in 1903. Today, The College of Engineering is the largest academic unit of Virginia Tech and has 14 departments of study. Its undergraduate program was ranked 4th and its graduate program was ranked 30th among doctoral-granting universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2018. In 2014–15, the College of Engineering consisted of 10,059 students. The current dean is Dr. Julia Ross.
The Medical College of Georgia is the flagship medical school of the University System of Georgia, the state's only public medical school, and one of the top 10 largest medical schools in the United States. Established in 1828 as the Medical Academy of Georgia, MCG is the oldest and founding school of Augusta University and played a role in the establishment of the American Medical Association and the standardization of medical practices. It is the third-oldest medical school in the Southeast and the 13th oldest in the nation. With 22 departments, it offers both a Doctor of Medicine (MD) as well as MD-PhD, MD-MPH, and MD-MBA degrees. Its national ranking in research is 75, and its ranking in primary care is 91, both out of 191 ranked medical schools.
Brian Kelly is an American journalist and author. Kelly is currently the editor and chief content officer of U.S. News & World Report, a position he has held since 2007.
The U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking is an annual set of rankings of colleges and universities in the United States, first published in 1983. It has been described as the most influential institutional ranking in the country.