UC Davis continues to contribute to the social mobility of students, who have a better-than-expected graduation rate and finish with some of the lowest debt in the nation, according to the latest “Best Colleges” rankings by U.S. News & World Report.

“Our students make UC Davis a better place in many ways, and these accolades reinforce what we already know about their drive and intelligence,” Chancellor Gary S. May said.

The rankings, released today (Sept. 14), have UC Davis consistent with last year’s spots — No. 11 among public universities and No. 39 overall. The rankings also highlight UC Davis as No. 15 among “top performers on social mobility,” which is determined by the outcomes of Pell Grant recipients and other stats.

The publication says UC Davis students as a whole graduate at a higher rate than its models predict — students have an 87 percent six-year graduation rate, compared to U.S. News’ predicted rate of 80 percent. Those students also rank as some of the most ethnically diverse in the nation and are among those with the least federal student loan debt at graduation, U.S. News said.

UC Davis’ undergraduate engineering program also received accolades, ranking No. 28 in the nation. Computer science was also highlighted in the rankings, with UC Davis being placed at No. 36 among almost 500 undergraduate programs nationally.

It was also named one of the best schools for veterans (No. 18), most innovative universities (No. 50) and one of the schools with the best undergraduate teaching (No. 55).