Colorado State University maintained its ranking as a top-tier university in the annual America's Best Colleges list from U.S. News & World Report.

CSU tied for the 124th slot with six other schools to round out the top 130 in the magazine's America's Best Colleges 2008 rankings, which was released Thursday night. CSU was the 62nd-ranked public university. Princeton, Harvard and Yale topped the overall list, while University of California-Berkeley was ranked the top public university.

The University of Colorado was ranked 79th overall and the 35th-best public university.

CSU officials, who earlier this summer said the report is just one of many ways that colleges should be evaluated, lauded the ranking.

"While we measure our success through many factors, this ranking further solidifies Colorado State among the finest research institutions in the country," CSU President Larry Penley said in a news release.

He said: "Our faculty and students look beyond the borders of Fort Collins to address the great global challenges, from eradicating infectious diseases from the planet to researching innovative treatments for cancers and creating clean energy sources."

CSU's College of Engineering ranked 35th among public universities and 57th overall, up from 73rd in 2007. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering ranked 10th in computer engineering.

The College of Business ranked 59th among all public research universities.

Colorado School of Mines was the state's highest-ranked school at No. 75.

The University of Denver placed No. 85.

The University of Northern Colorado was ranked in the fourth tier by the magazine.