Arcadia Listed in Several Categories in 2019 U.S. News & World Report Rankings

By Caitlin Burns | September 11, 2018

In the 2019 U.S. News & World Report university rankings, released yesterday, Arcadia University earned inclusion in several categories, such as Best Value School, A+ School for B Students, Best Undergraduate Teaching Schools, and Most Innovative Schools. In the overall rankings, Arcadia is 55 out of 187 in the North region (top 29 percent), and 11 out of 45 schools in that region in Pennsylvania (top 25 percent).

Also in the North region, Arcadia ranked as a Best Value School, based on the percentage of students receiving need-based scholarships or grants; as a Best Undergraduate Teaching school (ranked 12 in region out of 20 schools), which identifies schools where faculty have an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching; as an A+ School for B Students; and as among the Most Innovative Schools (1 of 3 schools in Pennsylvania; 1 of 17 in region), for innovative improvements to curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, or facilities.

One of the hallmarks of an Arcadia education, a global experience, was noted in the rankings. The report remarked that, “Arcadia encourages its students to explore the world,” and referenced the University’s unique Preview program. In the publication’s most recent graduate school rankings, Arcadia’s Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant programs remain nationally ranked.

The U.S. News & World Report’s North regional university category comprises Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Regional universities are those that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and graduate programs, but offer few, if any, doctoral programs.

Additionally, Arcadia was included in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (WSJ/THE) 2019 ranking, which was released on Sept. 5. The University ranked in the top 40 percent (390 out of 968), noting the strongest pillar as “Resources” (“Finance per student, faculty per student, research papers per faculty”), while “Outcomes” (“Graduation rate, value added to graduates’ salary, value added to loan default, academic reputation”) was its weakest pillar. The WSJ/THE rankings come from a variety of sources: U.S. Government (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid, the College Scorecard, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the THE U.S. Student Survey, the THE Academic Survey, and the Elsevier bibliometric dataset.

In 2017, Open Doors Report ranked Arcadia University #1 in the nation for undergraduate students studying abroad for the eighth consecutive year. Earlier this year, The Princeton Review named Arcadia University among the “Best in the Northeast” in its 2019 Best Colleges: Region by Region for the fourth year.