Saint Mary’s moves up in U.S. News ‘Best National Universities’ ranking

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota continues to move up in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of best colleges and universities.

Saint Mary’s is ranked No. 177 by U.S. News in the National Universities category for 2011, moving up six slots from No. 183 in 2010.

The ranking of more than 1,500 schools is available online at www.usnews.com. Results were announced today, Sept. 13.

“Saint Mary’s is a new kind of university for the 21st century,” says President Brother William Mann. “We are a national university committed to academic quality and relevance, and to educating our students for ethical lives of service of leadership — at every program level.”

U.S. News placed Saint Mary’s in the first tier of the “National Universities” category, which includes a total of 280 schools in two tiers. This grouping includes schools that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees. This is the fifth year Saint Mary’s is ranked in this category.

Taking top honors in the “National Universities” ranking are Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University and Columbia University. Saint Mary’s is one of only three public or private schools in Minnesota in this category.

Along with the “National Universities” category, the other main U.S. News institutional groupings include “Liberal Arts Colleges,” “Regional Universities,” and “Regional Colleges.”

U.S. News categorizes schools primarily by mission and region, and ranking data is gathered from each institution on indicators of academic excellence.