UCSB rises to No. 14 in Washington Monthly's 2015 list of Top 100 National Universities

UC Santa Barbara, described as "in the top echelon," has risen a spot in Washington Monthly magazine's annual list of Top 100 National Universities. The 2015 list has UCSB at No. 14, up from No. 15 in 2014 and No. 22 in 2013.

UC campuses were prominent on the list, with six of them making the top 20.

"As it has in previous years, the University of California system dominates our national university rankings, with a combination of research prowess and economic diversity among undergraduates," Washington Monthly said in the introduction to its College Guide and Rankings.

The magazine ranks four-year U.S. colleges on three measures. "Upward mobility" takes into account enrollment and graduation rates of students of modest means at reasonable prices. "Research" factors in universities' success at creating new technologies and ideas that drive economic growth and advance knowledge. And "service" considers institutions' efforts at encouraging students to give back to the country by joining the Peace Corps or the military; or performing community service.

UC Santa Barbara "is in the top echelon of its state's universities, serving students of variable income and ability," wrote Mamie Voight, director of policy research at the Institute for Higher Education, and Colleen Campbell, a senior policy analyst at the Association of Community College Trustees. "Yet 38 percent of Santa Barbara students are low income, compared to only 15 percent at Penn State, and Santa Barbara charges low-income students about half as much."

UCSB was also ranked No. 17 in the magazine's "Best Bang for the Buck" rankings in the Western Schools category.

For more information, read the Office of Public Affairs and Communications' article, "In the Top Echelon"; University of California's "UC dominates Washington Monthly's college rankings"; Washington Monthly's "A Different Kind of College Ranking"; and the magazine's full list.