LinkedIn has released its first-ever Top Colleges list, with Tufts ranked No. 16 out of 50 schools recognized for strong career outcomes. The new ranking uses LinkedIn’s data to evaluate schools based on students’ job and internship placements, alumni achievements and network strength.
“Our main goal is to connect people with economic opportunity, which means providing them with the tools they need to make informed career decisions,” Andrew Seaman, senior editor-at-large for Jobs and Career Development at LinkedIn News, wrote in an email to the Daily. “This list is one of those key resources that students, their families, and anyone else seeking higher education may use to inform their next steps.”
Seaman added that having such a list on LinkedIn will help graduates of top schools get hired in an ever-changing job market, where “nearly 9,500 LinkedIn members apply for a job every minute, and 41% of Gen Z globally report applying to more jobs than ever, but are hearing back less.”
The ranking will be integrated into LinkedIn’s platform, helping highlight graduates from top-ranked schools. Recruiters will be able to identify candidates from top schools through a “Ranked on LinkedIn Top Colleges” badge, which schools can include on their LinkedIn page for the year after the list’s publication.
“This badge helps highlight the schools that are at the top of their game when it comes to producing successful careers, and will help guide students and their parents as they make decisions about pursuing higher education,” Seaman wrote.
Additionally, an article titled “LinkedIn’s Top Colleges 2025,” which outlines the list, was published on LinkedIn News on Tuesday. Seaman wrote that LinkedIn News “reaches over 19 million followers – including recruiters, talent managers, and other business leaders who want to know which schools are producing graduates that will succeed in the workforce today.”
The article includes a brief blurb with information about Tufts, describing the university’s success in industries such as technology and internet, business consulting and financial services. It also highlights key skills among alumni, noting animation and the use of software programs Stata and MATLAB.
Unlike college rankings created by other organizations, LinkedIn’s ranking is almost entirely determined by the success of a university’s graduates in the job market.
“We analyzed the data across five pillars, weighted equally, to assess a school’s effectiveness for preparing its alumni for career success,” Seaman wrote. “Those pillars include job placement; internships and recruiter demand; career success; network strength; and knowledge breadth. These criteria provide a holistic view of the schools that have standout success and deliver a high return on investment in the long-term.”
Tufts’ LinkedIn ranking marks a significant rise from its positions in the U.S. News and World Report and Forbes, improving on its No. 37 spot on U.S. News’ Best National Universities and No. 52 on Forbes’ Top Colleges for 2025.
Tufts has steadily fallen in the U.S. News rankings, notably dropping eight spots in 2023 after a methodology change that began accounting for student debt and first-generation student success.
LinkedIn’s ranking, along with its contemporaries, can be helpful to students and families in making informed decisions about college admissions. Such lists are especially popular among international families, who often rely on numerical rankings to gain a base knowledge of American universities and their career prospects.
However, some have criticized university rankings for flawed methodology and making it harder for students to consider personal fit during the application process.
Patrick Collins, the executive director of public relations at Tufts, provided the Daily with a statement on Linkedin’s Ranking.
“As President [Sunil] Kumar has said previously, the number next to our name is immaterial on its own. What is important is the degree to which we support our students’ success. We care about enrolling students from a broad range of economic backgrounds, helping them learn, grow and graduate, and providing them with the tools they need to successfully pursue their chosen careers,” Collins wrote.
