The University of Iowa ranks 29th 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.

The UI's placement in the 2014 edition of the magazine's "The Top 30 Public National Universities" compares to a ranking of 28th in the 2013 edition. The UI currently is ranked 73rd in the "Best National Universities" category, which contains 281 U.S. universities (173 public, 101 private, and seven for-profit), compared to 72nd last year.

UI President Sally Mason says: “We are honored that the University of Iowa remains among the top public universities in the nation. I thank the thousands of talented faculty, staff, and students who are dedicated to excellence and whose achievements bring us this important distinction. Our rankings demonstrate the high quality of a UI education, and we are proud that we provide it so affordably.”

The magazine also ranked undergraduate programs in business and engineering. The UI's Henry B. Tippie College of Business is ranked 22nd among publics for 2014. Tippie ranked 21st in the 2013 rankings. Among all public and private universities, Tippie is newly ranked 34th, after ranking 36th last year.

The College of Engineering is ranked 33rd among public universities with doctoral programs for 2014, tying with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The College of Engineering also ranked 33rd among publics in 2013. Among all public and private universities, the College of Engineering is newly ranked 59th, compared to 58th in 2013.

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, University of Nebraska, University of Minnesota, 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 1,300 universities and colleges and from objective data submitted to a national data archive. The collected data are scored on a variety of indicators of academic quality in the following categories: assessment by peers and counselors, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving.

The U.S. News & World Report "Best Colleges 2014" rankings are scheduled for online release at the magazine's websitebeginning today. The 2014 Best Colleges guidebook will be on newsstands Tuesday, Sept. 24.