The Southeastern Conference is an athletic powerhouse, but several of its universities also have a strong academic reputation.
In 2024, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas will be joining the SEC, so all students applying for the fall of 2024 and beyond would be applying to an SEC school (Oklahoma and Texas were previously in the Big 12).
According to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 Best Colleges rankings, six of the SEC’s 16 schools rank within the top 100 national universities. These rankings take into account factors such as acceptance rates, graduation rates, faculty resources and student outcomes.
Using U.S. News’ rankings as a reference, we rank the SEC universities according to their academic reputation. The University of Georgia climbed up two slots from the 2022 edition of the U.S. News rankings. Let’s take a look at where every SEC school ranks academically.
16
Mississippi State University
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
U.S. News rank: 216 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 18,305
Acceptance rate: 70%
15
Louisiana State University
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
U.S. News rank: 185 (tie)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 30,952
Acceptance rate: 76%
14
University of Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
U.S. News rank: 178 (tie)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 26,269
Acceptance rate: 79%
13
University of Alabama
Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
U.S. News rank: 170 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 32,548
Acceptance rate: 80%
12
Univesity of Mississippi
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
U.S. News rank: 163 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 17,302
Acceptance rate: 97%
11
University of Kentucky
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
U.S. News rank: 159 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 22,735
Acceptance rate: 95%
10
University of South Carolina
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
U.S. News rank: 124 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 27,343
Acceptance rate: 64%
9
University of Oklahoma
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
U.S. News rank: 124 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 21,294
Acceptance rate: 73%
8
University of Missouri
Location: Columbia, Missouri
U.S. News rank: 124 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 23,752
Acceptance rate: 79%
7
University of Tennessee
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
U.S. News rank: 105 (tie)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 27,039
Acceptance rate: 68%
6
Auburn University
Location: Auburn, Alabama
U.S. News rank: 93 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 25,379
Acceptance rate: 44%
5
Texas A&M University
Location: College Station, Texas
U.S. News rank: 47 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 57,512
Acceptance rate: 63%
4
University of Georgia
Location: Athens, Georgia
U.S. News rank: 47 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 30,714
Acceptance rate: 43%
3
University of Texas
Location: Austin, Texas
U.S. News rank: 32
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 41,309
Acceptance rate: 31%
2
University of Florida
Location: Gainesville, Florida
U.S. News rank: 28 (tied)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 34,552
Acceptance rate: 23%
1
Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
U.S. News rank: 18 (tie)
Undergraduate enrollment fall 2022: 7,151
Acceptance rate: 7%
