Northern Arizona University was ranked No. 144 for top public schools on U.S. News & World Report\u2019s Best Colleges Rankings for 2021. This is the first time NAU has been nationally ranked. The key metrics used in the rankings include class sizes, student to faculty ratio, achievement of Pell Grant recipients and social mobility index, institutional resources, retention and graduation rates and peer assessment of an institution\u2019s academic reputation.<\/p>\n
This ranking is the result of collective work by faculty and staff across campus who have supported student success, as evidenced by record-breaking first year retention and six-year graduation rates, and bolstered the institution\u2019s national profile through exceptional research and scholarship that have seen NAU\u2019s research expenditures more than double over the last six years.<\/p>\n
NAU also was listed among schools with the least student debt load at graduation\u2014the only university in Arizona to achieve this distinction. This ranking is a reflection of NAU\u2019s overall mission of access and affordability for its students.<\/p>\n
NAU also was ranked 46th<\/sup> for undergraduate engineering programs in universities without an engineering doctorate program (NAU’s doctoral program in engineering started this year) and No. 284 for all national universities.<\/p>\n Other rankings include:<\/p>\n Undergraduate computer science programs: No. 230<\/p>\n Undergraduate business: No. 201<\/p>\n \u201cThese rankings reflect NAU\u2019s commitment to providing a high-quality education while keeping our costs low and focusing on the needs of the workforce in our state and nation,” NAU President Rita Cheng <\/strong>said. “I\u2019m gratified to see our excellent engineering, business and computer science programs recognized nationally and to see our graduates make a real difference in their fields as they enter industry.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"