A San Francisco Bay Area university earned a spot in the nation’s top five in the 2026 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings released Sept. 23.

Stanford University tied Yale University at No. 4 for best national university, research-oriented schools offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

Princeton University in New Jersey retained the No. 1 spot, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at No. 2 and Harvard University (No. 3).

It was not all rosy for major California schools in the national rankings— California Institute of Technology in Pasadena was the only school to drop out of the top 10, going from a tie (with University of Chicago) at No. 6 to No. 11.

California State University, Long Beach , also fell in the rankings, dropping from No. 109 to a five

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