The University of Iowa ranks 28th among the nation's best public universities, according to the latest rankings published by the magazine U.S. News & World Report. The ranking places the UI in a tie with Michigan State University and Virginia Tech.

The UI's placement in the 2013 edition of the magazine's "The Top 30 Public National Universities" is unchanged from its identical ranking of 28th in the 2012 edition. The UI currently is ranked 72nd in the "Best National Universities" category, which contains 281 U.S. universities (173 public, 101 private, and seven for-profit), compared to 71st last year.

UI President Sally Mason says: “The new U.S. News rankings indicate the University of Iowa’s strength and stability. I am delighted and proud that we remain among the top 30 national public universities. I thank our entire university community—faculty, staff, and students—for the talent and commitment that lead to our nationally recognized excellence.”

The magazine also ranked undergraduate programs in business and engineering. The UI's Henry B. Tippie College of Business is ranked 21st among publics for 2013, tying with two other public universities: the University of Florida and the University of Colorado. Tippie ranked 17th in the 2012 rankings. Among all public and private universities, Tippie is newly ranked 36th, after ranking 28th last year.

The College of Engineering is ranked 33rd among public universities with doctoral programs for 2013, tying with Clemson University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The College of Engineering was ranked 31st among publics in 2012. Among all public and private universities, the College of Engineering is newly ranked 58th, compared to 57th in 2012.

Also, a section titled "A+ Schools for B Students" once again lists the UI as one of a number of schools—including Big Ten colleagues Purdue University and Michigan State University—"where nonsuperstars have a decent shot at being accepted and thriving (and) where spirit and hard work could make all the difference in admissions offices."

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on reputational data obtained from questionnaires filled out by administrators at more than 1,500 universities and colleges and from objective data submitted to a national data archive. The collected data are scored on up to 16 indicators of academic quality in the following categories: undergraduate academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving.

The U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges 2013" rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges. The 2013 Best Colleges guidebook will be on newsstands Tuesday, Sept. 18.