Embry-Riddle Earns Ten Top-10 Honors, including for Aerospace Engineering, in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

U.S. News & World Report recognized the undergraduate Aerospace Engineering programs at Embry Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus as among the best doctoral-granting programs in the country, according to this year’s ranking of residential campuses. Here, work is done on a student-built camera system that captured images of the Polaris Dawn astronauts in space in September 2024.
U.S. News & World Report recognized the undergraduate Aerospace Engineering programs at Embry Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus as among the best doctoral-granting programs in the country, according to this year’s ranking of residential campuses. Here, work is done on a student-built camera system that captured images of the Polaris Dawn astronauts in space in September 2024. (Photo: Embry-Riddle)

Seth Robbins /

Sep 23, 2025, 7:58 AM

For the third consecutive year, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s undergraduate Aerospace Engineering program at the Daytona Beach, Florida, campus ranked among the top five in the nation, climbing one spot to the No. 4 ranking among programs with a doctoral option, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Embry‑Riddle’s Prescott, Arizona, campus ranked No. 1 nationally in the Best Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering Programs category for schools without a Ph.D. option.   

U.S. News and World Report Top 10 Logo

Top-10 Rankings for the Daytona Beach Campus
  • No. 1 in Most Innovative Schools - Regional Universities (South)
  • No. 3 in Best Colleges for Veterans - Regional Universities (South)
  • No. 4 in Aerospace Engineering degree programs with a Ph.D. option (National)
  • No. 4 in Overall Rank - Regional Universities (South)
  • No. 9 in Undergraduate Teaching Programs - Regional Universities (South)

Top-10 Rankings for the Prescott Campus
  • No. 1 in Overall Rank - Regional Colleges (West)
  • No. 1 in Best Undergraduate Aerospace Engineering degree programs without a Ph.D. option (National)
  • No. 1 in Best Colleges for Veterans - Regional Colleges (West)
  • No. 2 in Best Value Schools - Regional Colleges (West)
  • No. 9 in Top Performers on Social Mobility – Regional Colleges (West)

Embry-Riddle was awarded a total of ten separate top-10 rankings by U.S. News & World Report in its 2026 Best Colleges review of residential campuses. Other highlights included Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach Campus earning the No. 1 Most Innovative School among regional colleges in the South. The Prescott Campus ranked No. 1 in best overall quality and No. 1 in the Best for Veterans category among regional colleges in the West.

“These top rankings are a reflection of Embry-Riddle’s world-class infrastructure, cutting-edge research and outstanding student experience in signature aviation and aerospace fields,” said Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler.  

“As the university celebrates its centennial this year, we are proud to continue to deliver innovation and educate the next generation of aviators, explorers, scientists, engineers and military and industry leaders,” Butler added.

The Daytona Beach Campus tied for the No. 4 national ranking among programs with a doctoral option in the Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical category, placing it among the nation’s elite engineering institutions, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Our aerospace program has created an ecosystem where our leading faculty and researchers are collaborating with government and industry to drive innovation,” said Dr. Jim Gregory, dean of the Daytona Beach Campus College of Engineering.

Other highlights for the Daytona Beach Campus among regional colleges in the South included the No. 3 ranking in the Best Colleges for Veterans category. The campus, which serves some 7,500 undergraduates, earned the No. 4 Overall Rank, a one-spot increase from last year.  

Best in the West, Best for Vets

In the 2026 U.S. News ranking, Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus earned the No.1 national ranking among non-doctoral granting programs in the Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical category.

Among regional colleges in the West, the campus was awarded three top-5 honors. This included the No. 1 Overall Rank for the fourth consecutive year and No. 1 in the Best for Veterans category, a recognition the campus has earned for five years in a row.

“We are honored that U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked Embry-Riddle among the very best,” said Dr. Ken Witcher, chancellor of the Prescott Campus. “These results reflect our dedication to students, and our ongoing commitment to delivering an exceptional education that prepares graduates to lead in aviation, aerospace and space.”

The Prescott Campus, which serves some 3,000 undergraduates, also ranked No. 2 among the Best Value Schools in the same region, jumping two spots from 2025. The classification examines academic quality and cost after accounting for total expenses and financial aid.

Additionally, the campus ranked No. 9 in the Top Performers on Social Mobility category. This recognizes schools that graduate large proportions of disadvantaged students who receive Pell Grants, which are awarded mainly to students from households earning under $50,000 per year.

Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report rated Embry-Riddle’s online undergraduate degree programs the highest among private institutions and in the top 15 in the nation. From 2016 to 2023, Embry‑Riddle’s Worldwide Campus — which serves some 24,000 students across the globe and features a broad spectrum of online degree programs —  ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 overall in the ranking.