Scranton among Best Colleges for Public Good

The University ranked among nation’s best for social mobility, research and service of graduates according to Washington Monthly.
The University of Scranton ranked No. 112 among “Master’s Universities” in the nation in a listing by Washington Monthly that seeks to assess a school’s contribution to the “public good” through its graduates’ achievements in research, social mobility and community and national service.
The University of Scranton ranked No. 112 among “Master’s Universities” in the nation in a listing by Washington Monthly that seeks to assess a school’s contribution to the “public good” through its graduates’ achievements in research, social mobility and community and national service.

The University of Scranton ranked No. 112 among the 614 master’s universities in the nation included in a 2020 listing by Washington Monthly that seeks to rate colleges based on their contribution to the public good. Published in the September/October issue of the magazine and online, Washington Monthly analyzed numerous data sets to determine an overall rank, as well as a score and rank of colleges for “research,” “social mobility” and “community and national service.” Scranton ranked No. 37, No. 189 and No. 227, respectively, in these categories among master’s universities.

Washington Monthly weighted equally the colleges’ scores for research, social mobility and service to calculate the overall ranking. The research score is based on each school’s research expenditure and the number of alumni earning Ph.D.s, relative to the size of the college. The social mobility score is based on actual and predicted graduation rates; student loan repayment rates; actual verses predicted median earnings of graduates 10 years after enrollment; and the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants and the school’s average net price for full-time, in-state students with family incomes below $75,000 per year over the past three years, among other factors. The service score, also adjusted for the size of the school, is based on the size of the ROTC program; the number of alumni serving in the Peace Corps; and the percentage of federal work study grant money spent on community service projects and voter engagement, among other factors.

This is the 11th consecutive year Washington Monthly has included Scranton in its college rankings.

In other national rankings, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Scranton among the 10 top Master’s Universities in the North for 27 consecutive years, and as a “Best Value” school for eight consecutive years. The Princeton Review included Scranton in its list “Best Colleges” for 19 consecutive years and in its ranking of the nation’s “Best Science Labs” (No. 8) and “Best Campus Food” (No. 7) for six consecutive years, among other rankings.

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