For 2013 , Florida Atlantic University was classified as a second @-@ tier university by the U.S. News & World Report 's rankings of " Best Colleges . " U.S. News rank universities into one of two tiers , with one being the highest , based on how they compare with other colleges in a peer assessment , retention rates , student selectivity , faculty resources , financial resources , graduation rates , and the amount of alumni giving . The university was named one of the 146 " Best Southeastern Colleges " in the United States by the Princeton Review . The Review also recognized FAU 's business program by naming the College of Business to their list of " Best 296 Business Schools " for 2009 . For 2011 , Florida Atlantic was ranked 249th in the nation by Washington Monthly . The magazine based its rankings on the following three criteria : " how well a university perform as an engine of social mobility ( ideally helping the poor to get rich rather than the very rich to get very , very rich ) , how well a university do in fostering scientific and humanistic research , and how well a university promote an ethic of service to country . " The university was also ranked 28th in the United States and fourth in Florida by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine for awarding 738 bachelor 's degrees to Hispanic students during the 2006 – 2007 academic year .