Bowdoin College remains a top liberal arts college in the nation, coming in sixth in annual college rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. Bowdoin was ranked fourth overall last year.
The news magazine releases several “best of” lists, from best national universities and “Top A+ schools for B Student” to “Most Innovative” and “Best Value.”
Princeton University remained the top school in the best national universities category, while Williams College was the top national liberal arts college for the 14th consecutive year. For the 19th year, the University of California, Berkeley, was the top public national university.
Many institutions and groups release “best of” lists ranking higher education institutions, and U.S. News has released its annual list for more than 30 years. The news magazine evaluates schools on up to 15 measures of academic quality, and 30 percent of the ranking is based on graduation and retention rates.
The Maine colleges and their rankings are:
• Best liberal arts colleges: Bowdoin College (6), Colby College (12), Bates College (27) and College of the Atlantic (83). A list of second-tier schools between 179 and 232, but not ranked, included the University of Maine at Machias. The magazine categorizes as liberal arts colleges those schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences. It evaluated 219 private and 20 public liberal arts colleges.
• Best national universities: University of Maine in Orono (183), down from 168 last year.
• Best regional universities: University of New England (80) and Saint Joseph’s College (137). A list of second-tier universities, not ranked numerically but between 144 and 187, included Husson University, Thomas College and the University of Southern Maine. Regional universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s programs but few, if any, doctoral programs.
• Best regional liberal arts colleges: Maine Maritime Academy (5), University of Maine at Farmington (7), Unity College (15), University of Maine at Fort Kent (23), University of Maine at Presque Isle (27). A list of second-tier schools on this list included the University of Maine at Augusta. Regional colleges offer a full range of undergraduate programs and a broad range of programs in the liberal arts. They offer some master’s level programs, but few, if any, doctoral programs.
Maine schools that appear in other categories, some listed without numeric rankings:
• Best undergraduate business program: UMaine (184), based on surveys of business school deans and senior faculty.
• Best value listing for liberal arts colleges: Bowdoin (13), College of the Atlantic (16), Colby (19) and Bates (38).
• Best value for regional colleges: UMaine Farmington (5) and Unity (6).
• Best A-plus colleges for B students: College of the Atlantic.
• Best programs to look for: Colby College (Study Abroad and Undergraduate Research-Creative Projects).
• High School Counselor’s Top Picks: Bowdoin, Bates and Colby.
• Best Undergraduate Teaching: Bates, Colby and Bowdoin.
• Economic Diversity (measuring percentage of undergraduates receiving federal Pell grants at the top-ranked schools): Bowdoin and Colby.
• Best Colleges for Veterans: University of New England, Maine Maritime Academy and UMaine Farmington.
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