UC Irvine maintained its status among the nation’s top 50 colleges and universities in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking released Thursday, Aug. 20. The annual report rates 262 public and private universities based on 15 academic and financial criteria. UCI ranked 46th among all universities and 14th among public universities. Undergraduate research opportunities at UCI were lauded as worth watching, and the campus was cited in the best-values section. Its undergraduate engineering program jumped into the country’s top 50 this year, ranking 45th.