Outcomes and National Recognition

51�� is devoted to providing its students with a transformational learning experience and a bright future. Year after year, the University and its students are recognized for everything from academic excellence to commitment to service.

National Recognition

The University was named a Best College for 2025 by U.S. News & World Report and has been among the 10 top master's universities in the North for 31 consecutive years. In the most recent edition, 51�� ranked No. 6 and was also recognized for "Best Undergraduate Teaching" (No. 6).
In national rankings, U.S. News included 51�� among the nation’s:
- "Best Undergraduate Programs in Accounting" (No. 41)
- "Best Undergraduate Programs in Finance" (No. 43)
- "Best Undergraduate Programs in Analytics" (No. 26)
- "Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs"
- "Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs" (where a doctorate is not offered),
- "Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs"
- "Best Undergraduate Business Programs"

The Princeton Review has included 51�� among its Best Colleges for the past 23 years
For 18 consecutive years, the University's Kania School of Management has been included among The Princeton Review's Best Business Schools.
In the past eight years, The Princeton Review has recognized the University as a "Top Green College" for its commitment to sustainability, and among the top 25 for :
- Best Campus Food
- Best Science Labs
- Best-run Colleges
- Students Most Engaged in Community Service
- Students Love These Colleges
- Everyone Plays Intramural Sports
- Most Religious Students.
Forbes places 51�� on its 2024-2025 list of "America's Top Colleges," marking the 16th year the university has made the list.
Washington Monthly ranked 51�� No. 10 among the 604 master's universities in the nation in the "community and national service" category. The publication also ranked the college No. 30 for its contribution to the public good, No. 37 for research and No. 183 for social mobility.
The Wall Street Journal has ranked 51�� No. 125 out of 500 institutions in its "2025 Best Colleges in the U.S." and recognized the University for its impact on graduation rates and graduates' salaries.
The University is among the "Best Catholic Colleges" according to:
- Catholic Colleges: No. 14 Catholic college in the nation and No. 3 in Pennsylvania.
- College Factual: No. 17 in its 2022 list of “Best Colleges Affiliated as Roman Catholic Nationwide.”
- Niche.com: No. 24 in its list of 2023 Best Catholic Colleges in America.
- College Choice: No. 23 on its list of Top Catholic Colleges and Universities in the nation.
The Huffington Post ranked the University among "The Friendliest Colleges" in the country.
51�� was named among the top 26 "Healthiest U.S. Colleges," according to Greatist.com.

An Outstanding Value

US News & World Report ranked 51�� No. 54 as a "Best Value Regional University in the North," which compares academic quality of programs to cost of attendance. This is the tenth consecutive year, U.S. News has recognized 51�� as a "Best Value" school.
Forbes magazine has ranked 51�� as one of America's Top Colleges for value for 13 years.
MONEY magazine gave 51�� its second highest star rating (4.5 stars) in its selection of the 2023 “Best Colleges in America” based on value. The University was one of just 189 in the nation to receive this rating.

Master's Recognition

In its 2024-2025 Best Graduate Schools rankings, U.S. News & World Report placed several of 51��'s graduate programs among the top in the nation. Our rankings include:
- occupational therapy (No. 53)
- nurse anesthesia (No. 93)
- physical therapy (164).
- Best Nursing Schools: Master's (No. 124)
- Best Nursing Schools: Doctor of Nursing Practice (No. 130)
- MBA specialty programs:
  - accounting (No. 19)
  - business analytics (No. 25)
  - finance (No. 28)
- Part-time MBA program (No. 110)
Our online Master of Accountancy degree is one of the top such programs in the United States.
- Fortune magazine ranked it No. 9 in the nation in its inaugural Best Master's in Accounting Programs for 2023.
- Intelligent.com ranked the degree No. 4 in the nation in 2024.
Our online master's in health informatics is among the top in the nation.
- Forbes ranked the program No. 6 in the U.S. in 2024.
- Best Colleges ranked it No. 7 in the nation in 2023.
U.S. News & World Report's 2024 "Best Online Programs" ranked the University's online master's degree in business (excluding MBA) at No. 52 and its online MBA program at No. 120 in the nation. This is the 13th consecutive year that U.S. News ranked the University's online programs among the best in the nation.
U.S. News ranked 51�� ranked No. 72 in the country for “Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans” in 2023.
Fortune ranked the University’s online MBA program at No. 62 in the nation in its 2022 ranking of the “Best Online MBAs.”
Our online MBA specializations continue to garner top accolades.
- Forbes ranked our online MBA specialization in international business one of the top four programs in the country in 2024.
- Intelligent.com ranked our online MBA specialization in healthcare management No. 13 in the nation in 2024.

Academic Excellence

Since 1972, 129 graduates of The 51�� have earned Fulbrights.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has consistently listed the University among the "top producers" of Fulbright awards for American students.
In the last 15 years, 51�� students earned five Truman Scholarships, 12 Goldwater Scholarships and a Mitchell Scholarship.
51��'s first-year retention rate is 85 percent. The average rate, nationally, for selective bachelor's/master's institutions is 82 percent. (Please note that the "average rate" is the average of the last four years.)
The University has earned accreditation from 16 different accrediting agencies, including recognition by the nation's most prestigious bodies in the fields of business and management, nursing, computer science, physical therapy, occupational therapy, chemistry and counseling.
The student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1, and the average class size is 20.
85 percent of faculty members hold doctoral degrees and 59 percent are tenured. Members of the faculty hold degrees from 306 different universities in 29 countries on five continents.
Carrying on a tradition that spans more than three decades, 51�� students from nearly every undergraduate degree program have studied abroad. To date, students have studied in 53 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. A few hundred 51�� students study abroad each year.
The University's NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics program has produced 44 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since 1981. In addition, 17 graduates have earned NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships since 1974.
The Classes of 2021 and 2022 completed both in-person and remote internships at 927 organizations in 27 different states, plus the District of Columbia, Belgium, Canada, China, England, Germany, Panama, Spain, Sweden, and Vietnam.
Students from other countries have studied at the University for more than 50 years. Forty-three states and 29 foreign countries are represented in the University's student body

Successful Outcomes

99% of the Class of 2023 were employed, continuing their education or engaging in service within one year of graduating.
The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce ranked The 51�� among the top 7% of colleges in the country for return on investment (ROI) 20 years after enrollment.
- The analysis also showed "the median ROI of liberal arts colleges is nearly $200,000 higher than the median for all colleges."
Of the more than 1,200 applicants to doctoral health professions schools over the past 20 years, nearly 80% were accepted to schools of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, podiatry, optometry and pharmacy. Our acceptance rates are consistently higher than the national acceptance rates.
Over the past eight years, 91% of graduating seniors have gained acceptance to one or more law schools. Students are accepted into some of the nation’s most prestigious schools, such as Boston College, Fordham, Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania and William and Mary.
Since 1983, a total of 614 51�� graduates have chosen to spend a year or more in full-time volunteer service immediately after graduation. Of these alumni, 304 have volunteered with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

Superior Salaries

An October 2015 report by The Economist ranked The 51�� No. 22 in the nation (top 2% of four-year colleges) for the impact a 51�� education has on the earnings of its graduates.
The New York Times ranked 51�� 16th out of 578 selective private colleges for median student income at age 34.
The Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, published in October 2015, ranked The 51�� among the top 100 colleges in the nation for the increase in annual earnings it contributes to its graduates at 10 years after enrollment.
Another Brookings report, published in April 2015, placed 51�� among the top 50 colleges in the nation based on its earning scale for alumni at mid-career level.
According to PayScale’s most recent salary report, 51�� is in the top 16% of universities listed by the median salaries of their alumni.

Commitment to Service

The University’s Center for Service and Social Justice has a roster of over 2,800 students who perform well over 175,000 service hours each year.
51�� is one of only 100 colleges and universities in the nation to be named to Templeton Foundation’s Honor Roll of Character-Building Colleges.
51�� is among just 361 colleges in the nation, and one of only 24 colleges in Pennsylvania, to be named to the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement in 2015.
The University was one of just 766 colleges in the nation named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2014, the highest federal recognition colleges and universities can receive for their commitment to volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.

Economic Impact

The University created nearly $385.7 million in overall economic output according to data from an Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development impact study completed in 2022.
On average, each student spends $36 per month dining out downtown
Community organizations held more than 10,000 events at the University since 2014.
The University partners regularly with local agencies to address community-identified needs through community-based learning, averaging about 100 courses.
The University engages with the local community through direct service, including programs run at the new Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., House on Clay Avenue.
In recent years, the University has invested more than $302 million in campus improvements, either completed or underway.
- In 2011, Pilarz and Montrone Halls, which house nearly 400 upperclass students and a fitness center, opened.
- The new Loyola Science Center was completed in two phases in 2011 and 2012.
- Edward R. Leahy Jr. Hall, which houses the departments of physical therapy, occupational therapy and exercise science, was dedicated in September 2015.
- The Rev. Kevin P. Quinn, S.J., Athletics Campus, the $14 million, 11-acre home for the University’s soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball and softball Division III NCAA teams, was dedicated in May 2018.
- In Hyland Hall, 5,000 square feet of new mechanical engineering labs and shop area were added to enhance the engineering programs.
The 51�� Small Business Development Center (SBDC) provided 992 consulting hours to 163 clients in the City of 51�� in 2019 with a total of more than 14,000 hours in the past 40 years.
Student, physician and nurse volunteers in the Leahy Clinic provide free health care services to Lackawanna County's uninsured residents -- 1,039 patients in 2019.

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