Miami University

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Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
(513) 529-7592
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Miami a national leader in commitment to teaching per U.S. News & World Report 2013 rankings

09/11/2012

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In the newly released U.S. News & World Report 2013 edition of America's Best Colleges, Miami again is cited for its "unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching." Miami ranks third among national universities, behind only Dartmouth and Princeton. Only 15 national universities are noted for such faculty commitment. Miami has appeared in the top eight on this list since it was started four years ago.

Miami has improved its overall rank to 89th among all 202 national universities (public and private) in the list. Among top public national universities, Miami University ranks 37th, up two spaces over last year’s rank.

The magazine uses a variety of factors in creating the rankings including undergraduate academic reputation (22.5, percent), student retention (20 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (15 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent) and alumni giving rate (5 percent).

This is another recent high ranking for Miami. Already in the last month, the university was ranked 47th among 104 national universities in The Alumni Factor;The Princeton Review included Miami in its “The Best 377 Colleges-2013 Edition”; Miami appeared in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013; and Forbes ranked Miami 35th in the nation among public universities.

“If students combine the information in this book with college visits, interviews and intuition, our rankings are a powerful tool in the quest for selecting the right college,” note U.S. News editors.

The magazine features Miami in its “A Focus on Student Success” section, described as “outstanding examples” of academic programs that are commonly linked to student success. Mentions in this section are calculated using a survey of university presidents, chief academic officers and deans of admissions. Miami is cited in three areas.

“Learning Communities” in which students typically take two or more linked courses as a group and get to know one another and their professors well;
“Senior Capstone” experiences, culminating experiences that ask students nearing the end of their college years to create a project that integrates and synthesizes what they’ve learned; and
“Writing in the Disciplines,” making writing a priority at all levels of instruction and across the curriculum. Through the Howe Center for Writing Excellence, Miami students have unique access to writing support and resources.

Miami is also tied for 35th in the category of Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs where the highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s. Miami's Farmer School of Business is tied for 56th for Best Undergraduate Business Programs.

U.S. News surveyed high school counselors about which schools they believe offer the best undergraduate education to their students, and Miami came in tied at 63rd (and 25th among public universities).

The 2013 Best Colleges guidebook will be on newsstands beginning Sept. 18.