CIU Moves Up in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

CIU Moves Up in U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Columbia International University

Columbia International University climbed to #35 among Best Regional Universities in the South in the 2016 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. CIU ranked #37 in last year’s survey.

Many prospective students and their parents use the rankings as a guide to one of the most important investments they will ever make. Among the criteria for the rankings are the freshman retention rate, the graduation rate, and the student to faculty ratio.

CIU also ranked high in the “Best Colleges for Veterans” category at #30 in the South. This ranking provides military veterans and active-duty service members with data on which top-ranked schools offer benefits that can help them make pursuing a college education more affordable.   

CIU President Dr. Bill Jones says CIU has risen in the rankings in recent years due to small class sizes and faculty to student ratios, as well as the expansion of professional majors such as Business & Organizational Leadership, Sports Management, and a five-year Master of Divinity degree. 

“At CIU we’re committed to raising up professional ministers, but also ministering professionals,” Jones said. “These are students who want their lives to make a difference, so that when they graduate they are not just making an income, but an impact.”

The U.S. News & World Report rankings come on the heels of CIU scoring high in two other recent surveys. CIU is #3 on the website The 50 Best Christian Colleges and Universities 2015 and for the second year in a row, CIU is ranked #6 in the Southeast in the annual “Best Bang for the Buck” survey published by Washington Monthly magazine.