MACON – Mercer University moved up two spots to No. 133 in U.S. News & World Report's national universities rankings, released on Tuesday, tied with six others, including large, flagship institutions Louisiana State University, Rutgers University, the University of Arkansas and the University of Kentucky.
Last year, due to factors such as an increase in research expenditures and doctoral programs, Mercer was elevated to the national universities category following 17 years as a top 10 regional university in the South.
Mercer, Emory (tied for No. 21), Georgia Tech (tied for No. 34), the University of Georgia (tied for No. 54) and Georgia State University (tied for No. 223) are the only institutions in the state to be ranked in the publication's top tier of national universities.
Additionally, Mercer is ranked by the magazine as the No. 39 best value among the 311 national universities, coming in one spot ahead of the University of Southern California. Mercer and Emory are the only two Georgia institutions ranked among the top 50 best values in this category.
The 311 institutions ranked as national universities are evaluated based upon factors such as peer assessment, freshman retention, graduation rate, class size, student-faculty ratio, academic profile of entering class, acceptance rate and alumni giving.
The best value rankings take into account an institution's academic quality and the 2016-17 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.
Mercer School of Engineering's undergraduate program, which consistently appears among the nation's top engineering programs that have bachelor's or master's as their terminal degrees, is ranked No. 38 based on surveys of engineering deans and senior faculty at accredited programs.
Mercer is also ranked No. 83 among the publication's Best College for Veterans due to the University's enrollment of and benefits for veterans and active-duty service members.
These rankings only include numerically ranked schools in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings that meet several criteria, including certification for the GI Bill, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, enrollment of a minimum of 20 veterans and active service members, or a critical mass, during the 2016-2017 academic year, and inclusion in the top half of its U.S. News ranking category.
To view the rankings and see more information on U.S. News and World Report's ranking methodology, visit usnews.com/colleges.
