A dozen Dallas-Fort Worth universities have made U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of best colleges in the nation for 2026, with Texas Christian University landing on top in Fort Worth.

U.S. News' prestigious Best Colleges rankings annually compare nearly 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities using 17 metrics that measure "academic quality." Schools are ranked nationally, regionally, and by specialty.

Texas Christian University retained its No. 6 spot in Texas for a second year, and it tied for No. 97 in the national rankings after falling into No. 105 last year. TCU is joined in Texas' top 10 by Southern Methodist University in Dallas (No. 5) and The University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson (No. 7).

In-state tuition and fees add up to $63,590 a year for TCU students, U.S. News says, and the public university's competitive acceptance rate is only 44 percent. Students benefit from having a 14:1 student-faculty ratio, and 39 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students.

This has proven to be a great year for the Horned Frogs (and not just because they won the Iron Skillet). The university's exceptional graduate business and education programs constantly land atop U.S. News' separate rankings of best grad schools, and its students are reportedly the happiest in the nation, per The Princeton Review. Forbes also named TCU among its top universities for 2025.

Other top universities in Dallas-Fort Worth
Southern Methodist University was the only other DFW school to rank among the overall top 100 best universities in the country for 2026. It maintained its status as Texas' 5th best university, and it moved up three spots to rank No. 88 nationally after slipping into No. 91 last year.

SMU has a 63 percent acceptance rate, and students pay $69,722 yearly for in-state tuition and fees, according to the school's profile.

The five other Dallas-Fort Worth schools that ranked among U.S. News' national list include:

• No. 110 – The University of Texas at Dallas (tied)
• No. 208 – University of North Texas (tied)
• No. 222 – The University of Texas at Arlington (tied)
• No. 329 – Texas Woman's University (tied)
• No. 384 – Dallas Baptist University (tied)

Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, a town located less than 30 miles south of Fort Worth, tied for No. 17 in U.S. News' regional ranking of Best Colleges in the West for 2026.

In the regional ranking of Best Universities in the West, four Dallas-Fort Worth schools made the cut: University of Dallas (No. 9), The University of North Texas at Dallas (No. 41), Parker University (No. 46), and Waxahachie's Nelson University (No. 81), formerly known as Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

U.S. News' top 10 best colleges in Texas for 2026 are:

• No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
• No. 2 – University of Texas at Austin
• No. 3 – Texas A&M University, College Station
• No. 4 – Baylor University, Waco
• No. 5 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
• No. 6 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
• No. 7 – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
• No. 8 – University of Houston
• No. 9 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
• No. 10 – University of St. Thomas, Houston