FIU designated “preeminent,” joins elite group of universities

The Florida Board of Governors has designated FIU a Preeminent State Research University, based on the strength of its academics and research. FIU is the youngest institution to join the elite group.

Introduced into Florida law in 2013, the Florida Preeminence program elevates and rewards the state’s highest-performing public research universities based on student success and research performance metrics such as graduation rates, national rankings, faculty memberships in National Academies, research expenditures and patents awarded. As a preeminent university, FIU is eligible to receive additional dedicated funding.

This year's $25 million in preeminent funding will be reinvested in excellence, including the recruitment and retention of top faculty and students.

“The FIU community is thrilled to be recognized for its relentless focus on academics and research excellence,” said FIU President Kenneth A. Jessell. “This designation caps a spectacular year of success for FIU and marks a new era for this young institution as one of the 21st century’s top research universities.”

The other preeminent universities are University of Florida, Florida State University and University of South Florida. The targets a university must meet to be designated preeminent are similar but distinct from the performance-based funding metrics that the Board of Governors uses to evaluate state universities on a yearly basis.

This year, FIU once again earned the highest score in the State University System with 96 points. FIU has ranked among the top three universities in the past four years – earning the top spot three of those times.

“FIU’s consistent high performance establishes a proven track record of providing an excellent return on investment and affirms our value proposition and commitment to the goals of public higher education,” said Provost, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Béjar. “FIU is redefining excellence, and our students, faculty and staff continue to make important contributions and significant impact to every facet of life in our community, the state and the world. We are forward thinking, innovative, unstoppable.”

The preeminent designation and the top performance funding score announcements come on the heels of FIU ranking No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 13 in the world for impact in the 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Among FIU’s other achievements over the past year:

• U.S. News & World Report once again ranked FIU’s International MBA program at  FIU Business remains No. 2 among public universities. Graduate programs in the  Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences,  Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work,  Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and the  College of Law also were in the top 50 among public universities in U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 edition of Best Graduate Schools.
• U.S. News also ranked FIU No. 64 among the nation’s public schools in its undergraduate rankings, landing the university in the top 100 nationally.
• The Wall Street Journal ranked FIU fourth among public universities.
• Washington Monthly ranked FIU the No. 1 university in Florida for its commitment to social mobility, public service, and research.
• Degree Choices ranked FIU No. 14 nationally among public universities for students’ return on investment, based on the cost of attending and the earnings a student can expect.
• FIU is one of 25 universities that have earned the Carnegie Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose designation.

For related visuals please visit  go.fiu.edu/preeminence.