USF St. Petersburg is celebrating after being ranked No. 24 among the top 25 Southern Regional Public universities earlier this month. The university has been featured in the rankings, released by U.S. News & World Report, before.
Rankings criteria are based on graduation and first-year student retention rates, undergraduate academic reputations, faculty and financial resources, student selectivity, alumni gifts and graduation rate performances.
In addition to these criteria, the publication measured the student-faculty ratio. USFSP comes in at 17:1, with almost 30 percent of courses having 20 or fewer students.
This emphasis on small class sizes permits faculty to work closely with students and encourage them in their studies.
Regional Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska was pleased with the results.
“These rankings are a testament to our outstanding faculty and staff, to the education excellence they are delivering to our students,” said Wisniewska.
Among both southern private and public regional universities, USFSP is ranked No.72.
Yahoo Finance ranked USF within the top 105 smartest colleges in the United States in September 2015.
These rankings help students compare academic qualities of over 1,800 American universities. Princeton University ranked first in the best national universities category. Williams College took top honors as the best national liberal arts college for the 14th consecutive year.
The list also aids students in researching schools that have the most campus ethnic diversity, economic diversity as well as amount of international students.
Other ranking categories include best colleges for veterans, historically black colleges and universities and the most innovative schools.
In January of this year, U.S. News & World Report ranked USFSP’s online MBA programs among the top in the nation.
With 167 colleges offering the course of study, USFSP ranked at No. 15 in the nation and second overall in the state of Florida, behind the University of Florida, making it among the top 10 percent of its kind.
Rankings for the MBA program list are based on five categories: student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation, faculty credentials and training, and student services and technology.
USFSP ranked highest in faculty credentials and training, coming in third nationally.
U.S. News & World Report also ranked the Kate Tiedemann College of Business fifteenth in the nation and second in the state. The college is ranked first in the state for the online MBA for veterans.
BestSchools.org also ranked the college earlier this year, naming it No. 34 among their 50 best online MBA programs. The website claims the program has “…an emphasis on strategic-thinking and analytical skills, prepares students for leadership roles with an appreciation of social stewardship and sustainability.”
