SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In its first-ever showing in U.S. News & World Report’s National Universities category, Santa Clara University placed in the top 15 percent (No. 54) among nearly 400 national-level universities in the publication’s 2020 “Best Colleges” edition.
Last year, U.S. News ranked Santa Clara No. 1 in the West in the Regional Universities category. Due to a new classification system that takes into account the number of doctoral or professional degrees SCU awards annually, SCU has been elevated to national university standing.
Santa Clara also was noted for its excellence in undergraduate business education (No. 66 out of over 500 universities nationwide); undergraduate teaching excellence (No. 23 among national universities); education for veterans; and campus diversity.
“We are extremely gratified that the hard work of Santa Clara University’s faculty, staff, and students is being recognized through strong rankings in U.S. News and elsewhere,” said SCU President Kevin O’Brien, S.J.
U.S. News & World Report ranks universities on an array of criteria including assessments from leaders of peer institutions; success in retaining students; graduation rates; resources provided to faculty; class sizes; and the caliber of the student body.
“Santa Clara has long focused its resources and effort on recruiting and retaining top students from a variety of backgrounds, placing them in small classes with renowned educators, and helping them successfully complete their studies as reflected in our stellar graduation rate,” said Lisa Kloppenberg, interim provost of Santa Clara University. “We are very proud of this acknowledgement of our success.”
The U.S. News & World Report list comes on the heels of similar strong national rankings for SCU, including No. 51 out of 650 Top Colleges ranked by Forbes and No. 87 out of more than 800 U.S. colleges and universities included in The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s “Top U.S. Colleges” rankings.
SCU by the Numbers — U.S. News & World Report
- No. 54 (tied) out of nearly 400 national universities
- No. 66 (tied) overall undergraduate business programs (among 504 eligible universities)
- No. 23 (tied) best undergraduate teaching (national)
- No. 96 best value school (national)
- No. 27 (tied) best for veterans (national)
- No. 134 (tied) undergraduate engineering (among 206 universities offering doctoral degrees)
About Santa Clara University
Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu.
