Fresno State ranks No. 8 among all public regional universities in the western United States, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s prestigious annual rankings of schools.

The magazine’s “Best Colleges 2014” list moved Fresno State up one spot from last year, when it was named ninth among western regional universities.

When looking at all private and public universities in the West, Fresno State ranked 36th. The ranking covers schools in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. Last year the university ranked 38th on the all-schools list.

“Student success is our highest priority and this achievement is a strong indicator that the efforts of our faculty and staff are paying off,” said Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro.

The ratings are based on such factors as freshman retention rate, graduation rate, the number of full-time faculty, student/faculty ratio and class size.

The magazine identifies regional universities as those that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs. Unlike national universities, regional schools offer few, if any, doctoral programs.

Fresno State offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 45 master’s degree programs, an educational specialist degree and three doctoral programs.

The university was also singled out by Washington Monthly magazine, which ranked Fresno State 15th in the nation among master’s degree-granting universities. The magazine uses social mobility, research and public service and affordability to make its rankings.

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