Duke ranked eighth best university in the U.S.

Duke is rated eighth is a the nation in a new ranking released by U.S. News and World Report Tuesday. 

Duke is also listed as having one of the best values among national universities and having an economically diverse student body. Duke, which tied for eight place along with the University of Pennsylvania among national universities that offer doctoral degrees, was also ranked eight in last year's report. 

In addition, the report noted that Dukes students are among those who graduate with the least amount of debt. In 2015, about 35 percent of Duke students graduated with student debt, and the average student owed $19,104. 

Duke's engineering program was also rated as 18th in the nation, the same ranking that it received last year, and Duke tied for third place in the "best colleges for veterans" category.

The rankings by the U.S. News and World Report are based on quantitative data like graduation and retention rates and student selectivity, along with qualitative data from academic peers and high school guidance counselors.