The U.S. News & World Report has announced that Florida A&M University has been ranked as one of the best colleges in 2023-2024, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

According to the rankings, FAMU made an astronomical jump from the 103rd position last year to the 91st spot. Landing in the top prestigious top 100 list has been a vision of the university's “Boldly Striking” five-year strategic plan and it becomes the No. 1 public HBCU in the country for the fifth consecutive year. Additionally,  FAMU was ranked No. 170 among national universities, rising from being ranked 202 last year.

In a statement, FAMU President Larry Robinson said in a prepared statement.

“This is outstanding news,” Robinson said. “This reflects our collective effort and our unstinting commitment to the success of our students and our making good use of the funds invested in us by Florida taxpayers, funding agencies, private-sector partners, philanthropic foundations, and friends.”

“I am thrilled to see our institution's remarkable progress,” added Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Allyson Watson. “Our ascent in the U.S. News & World Report rankings underscores our unwavering commitment to excellence.”

“We will continue to boldly strike forward as an internationally renowned institution of higher learning,” Watson continued. “Our alumni expect the best from us, our students deserve the best and our faculty and staff contribute to us being the best.”

FAMU was also ranked No. 3 among the country’s public and private HBCUs behind second-place Howard University and Spelman College, which is ranked number one

Last semester, the university set a fundraising record with $25.7 million and is moving closer to its goal of attaining the Carnegie Research 1 classification after being awarded more than $96 million in research funding in the latest fiscal year.

The news of FAMU rankings comes after the university’s lawsuit discrimination lawsuit, Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials was permitted to proceed by a federal judge in June. Filed originally in September 2022, six students allege state funding disparities between FAMU and the University of Florida was approximately $1.3 billion between 1987 and 2020. The two schools are Florida’s only two public land-grant colleges.

Robinson hopes that FAMU will seize the opportunity to build on the momentum that the university has earned over the last year to continue on a positive trajectory.

"We can’t rest on our laurels,” Robinson said. “We will renew our commitment to ‘Excellence With Caring’ and continue to hold forth the promise of opportunity to the young people and their families for whom we have been a beacon for nearly 136 years.”