UC San Diego ranked first among the nation’s top universities for wellness – a combination of campus safety and mental health support – according to an online education service.

The La Jolla campus scored 95 out of 100 possible points, followed by MIT at 88.6 in the category, among several assessed in a survey conducted by Degree Choices of the country’s most progressive universities.

The service examined diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, health and wellness, and freedom of expression by declaring Stanford University as the most progressive campus in the country.

In the other findings:

• UC Berkeley, Cornell University, Yale University and UCLA followed Stanford, completing the Top 5 most progressive. Stanford dominated the sustainability category.
• The California Institute of Technology ranked as the most diverse college, based on LGBTQ support, gender, ethnic, and geographic diversity. UC Berkeley and UCLA also ranked in the Top 5 for diversity.
• The University of Michigan was at the top of the list in the free speech category. Caltech fell behind, registering just 30 points.

All colleges, like UCSD, have performed well on their mental health support. The differences were found in the campus safety scores. Wellesley College had the highest score in this subcategory, although UCSD exceeded the field overall.

The UCSD, however, has fallen behind – like the four other UC campuses assessed – on issues of inclusiveness, as well as on freedom of expression.

“The metrics we analyzed take into account a range of viewpoints that are increasingly being discussed and will hopefully help educate potential students and create a more comprehensive view of any universities or colleges than they’re planning to date, ”Ory said. Weihs, founder of Degree Choices.

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