Ratings released Sept. 10 by U.S. News & World Report place the University of Texas at Dallas as the No. 3 best public university in Texas. Among national public universities, UTD ranked No. 61 in the 2019 ratings, up from No. 73 last year.

UTD was preceded in first place by the University of Texas at Austin and in second place by the Texas A&M University in College Station.

To determine the rankings, the publication evaluated 1,397 four-year, accredited institutions on 16 measures of academic quality. Categories included graduation and retention rates, social mobility, faculty resources, expert opinion, student excellence and financial resources.

Of 272 national universities, UTD placed in the top quarter of institutions whose students graduate with small debt loads. In terms of ethnic diversity, UTD remained in the top 25 schools nationwide.