Stetson University Ranked 5 by US News & World Report

Commencement 2015Graduation and retention rates, faculty cited as key indicators of quality. 

Stetson University is tied for fifth on U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 list of Best Regional Universities (South), a one-place move up from last year’s ranking.

“At Stetson, we take pride in being recognized as an academically rigorous institution that places a high value on global citizenship, personal growth and social responsibility,” said Stetson President Wendy B. Libby, Ph.D. “Stetson provides a personalized learning experience to each student, based on top quality faculty and focused on learning outcomes which are enhanced by leadership and mentoring opportunities. We challenge our students to go beyond success – to become significant in their communities, nation and the world.”

Stetson tied for sixth on U.S. News’ list for Best Undergraduate Teaching, which identifies schools where the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching. Institutions are compared only to their peers and must receive at least seven votes from college presidents, provosts and admissions deans to make the list. Only seven regional universities in the south made that list.

In addition to those two lists, US News has included Stetson (rank) for: Best Value Schools (7), Best Colleges for Veterans (5), Best Law Schools (105), Part-time Law (29), Best Online MBA Programs (93) and Best Online Graduate Business Programs — Excluding MBA (42) for its nationally recognized online Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program.

U.S. News also ranks Stetson’s College of Law first for Trial Advocacy and second for Legal Writing. Enrollment at Stetson’s College of Law is 919, continuing a multi-year trend of hitting expected numbers despite a weak market for law students.

“While we are interested in national rankings, we always encourage prospective students and their parents to visit Stetson for a broader, well-rounded perspective of all that Stetson has to offer,” said Libby.

Stetson emphasizes active learning with a low undergraduate student/teacher ratio of 12:1, and 61 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students. Only 0.2 percent of classes have 50 or more students. Other factors leading to a top ranking include a 61 percent acceptance rate of applicants, and 58 percent of students finishing in the top quarter of their high school graduating class. Stetson’s undergraduate enrollment this year is 3,084 compared to 2,729 in 2014.