PolyCentric University News Center

Cal Poly Pomona ranked among the top public universities in the West in the newly released 2007 edition of America's Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report.

The university placed fifth on the list of Top Public Universities – Master's in the Western United States, which includes all public schools whose highest degrees are bachelor's and master's. When compared among public and private universities in the Best Universities – Master's category, it was considered 32nd among Western universities with undergraduate and master's programs.

Cal Poly Pomona's College of Engineering earned high honors, ranked 16th in the nation on the list of Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs – Master's. Within the engineering disciplines, industrial/manufacturing engineering placed fourth, electrical engineering ranked 11th and mechanical engineering was 12th.

Cal Poly Pomona provides a quality education for a fraction of the cost of private universities. A California resident can attend Cal Poly Pomona for an academic year for only $3,015 as an undergraduate student and $3,597 for graduate students. USC tuition costs more than $33,000. University of California campuses are more than two times more costly.

U.S. News & World Reports America's Best Colleges guide is an annual ranking of more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools across the nation. Academic performance is measured on as many as 15 different indicators divided into seven categories including peer assessment, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance and alumni giving rate. While well known, the national magazine is also often criticized for its methodology.