The University of Kansas once again ranks among the country’s top 50 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges 2009 issue.

KU ranks 40th among 164 top public institutions in the magazine’s most recent issue. The magazine’s rankings are based on a survey of top university administrators, retention rates, graduation rates, faculty resources, selectivity of admissions, per-student financial resources and alumni giving rate. In the survey of top university administrators, KU ranks 30th among public universities.

KU’s School of Engineering ranked 41st among public schools.

The University also received top national rankings this year from the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2009, which noted: “With relatively low tuition, (KU’s) academic value is also hard to top.”

The guide gives KU four stars for academics, social life and quality of life, lauding the University’s honors program as well as its beautiful campus—“among the loveliest in the United States.”

“With nearly 40 nationally ranked academic programs, Kansas’ reputation (the non-basketball one) continues to grow,” says the guide. “Comprehensive study abroad programs, extensive undergraduate research opportunities, and a thriving social scene are just some of the reasons students become a Jayhawk.”

The guide singles out several fields as KU’s “strongest programs”: architecture and urban planning; business; economics; engineering; environmental studies; nursing; pharmacy; social welfare; pre-med studies; and Spanish and Portuguese. Journalism also is praised.

“It’s gratifying to again receive such high marks in this respected guide,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “Our students, faculty and staff deserve the credit for making KU a great place to be.”

KU is the only Kansas university ranked by the guide.