Michigan Tech Hits Top Tier in US News Undergraduate Rankings

Michigan Technological University’s undergraduate education ranks in the top tier of national universities, according to U.S. News & World Report’s latest edition of America’s Best Colleges. The rankings were released online today and scheduled to hit newsstands on Monday, August 20.

Michigan Tech is one of three public universities in Michigan to make the top tier of the magazine’s undergraduate rankings. The other two are the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

Michigan Tech’s ranking improved this year in seven of the 10 categories evaluated, which U.S. News calls “indicators of excellence.” The University’s scores rose in graduation rate, percentage of small classes, average SAT/ACT scores of entering freshmen and percentage of entering freshmen who are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, an indication that the quality of students is increasing. Peer assessment of Michigan Tech and average annual giving by alumni also improved.

The U.S. News rankings also recognized Michigan Tech as one of 25 national universities whose students finish college with the least amount of educational debt. The average owed by a Michigan Tech graduate is $14,453, the least of any public university in Michigan. Nationwide, some public universities averaged student debt more than twice that high.

“We feel extremely proud to be ranked among some of the best undergraduate schools in the country,” said Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz. “We know that Michigan Tech offers an outstanding education and great value for the money. And we are committed to continuing to improve the quality of the education provided here.”

Each year, U.S. News & World Report ranks public and private undergraduate colleges and universities. This year, they evaluated the undergraduate programs at 262 national universities and 266 liberal arts colleges.

The rankings are based on peer review—a survey of presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions—as well as on retention, which is the proportion of freshmen who return for their second year and graduate within six years; faculty resources, including class size, faculty salaries, student-faculty ratio, and proportion of professors holding the highest degree in their fields; student selectivity, based on entering freshmen’s SAT or ACT scores and their high school class rank; spending on academic programs; and the percentage of alumni who gave to their school.

For more information about the rankings, see www.usnews.com/colleges.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.