Drake University made its debut in the “National Universities” category in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Colleges survey, ranking among the top third of the nation’s most prestigious universities. U.S. News places Drake at #130 among 402 of the nation’s elite private and public doctoral institutions, a list that includes Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, MIT, Yale, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Duke, and Johns Hopkins.
“We’re proud to be recognized not just as an outstanding university in the Midwest, but now among the nation’s top-tier institutions,” said Drake University President Marty Martin. “Our dedicated faculty and staff work hard to deliver exceptional outcomes for students, and we have done so for many years. A Drake education is truly for a lifetime, and this honor recognizes that fact.”
Drake’s new national ranking is a result of changes made to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which U.S. News uses to group institutions into categories. Carnegie now classifies Drake as a “Doctoral–Professional” institution because it awards more than 100 professional doctoral degrees annually. Drake’s doctoral programs include Law (JD), Pharmacy (PharmD), Occupational Therapy (OTD), and Education (EdD). The “National Universities” list where Drake appears includes those institutions that offer a full range of undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs.
The ranking is based on key measures of quality such as academic reputation; graduation and retention rates; faculty resources (including class size, the percentage of faculty with the top academic degree, student-faculty ratio); student selectivity; financial resources; and alumni giving.
In addition to the overall ranking, Drake received honors in a number of additional categories:
- 68th nationally on the list of “Best Value Schools”
- 195th for top undergraduate business programs
- 91st nationally as a best college for veterans
U.S. News is not the only institution to recognize Drake for its exceptional academics, value, and culture. The University is consistently highly ranked by organizations including Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, The Princeton Review, and The Brookings Institution.
Prospective students are invited to learn more about Drake’s programs and schedule a campus visit at www.drake.edu.