September 2016

Santa Clara, Calif., Sept. 13, 2016--Santa Clara University is ranked No. 2 “Regional University” in the West according to the 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, earning an overall score of 95 out of 100. SCU’s first-year retention rate of 95 percent ranks the highest of any master’s university in the country, and its 84 percent graduation rate is the highest in the West.

SCU maintained its No. 2 overall ranking from last year and was highly ranked in several other notable areas:

• The Leavey School of Business placed in the top 100 for Best Business Programs (63), Best Undergraduate Accounting Programs (23), Best Undergraduate Management Information Systems Programs (13) and Best Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs (12).
• SCU was also ranked No. 2 Best Regional University (West) for Veterans 
• 83 percent of SCU first-year students were in the top 25 percent of their high school class, up from 80 percent last year.
• SCU cultivates proud and generous alumni and maintained its average alumni giving rate at 21 percent this year.

The survey compared Santa Clara University with 653 other universities that offer a full range of undergraduate programs and master’s degrees, but few doctoral programs. The Western region includes master’s level colleges and universities from Colorado to the West Coast, including Texas.

The Top Five Master’s Universities in the West
1. Trinity University (Texas), score: 100
2. Santa Clara University (Calif.), score: 95
3.  Loyola Marymount University (Calif.), score: 92
4.  Gonzaga University (Wash.), score: 86
5. Mills College (Calif.), score: 82

The “Best Colleges” rankings can be found on the U.S. News & World Report website. The 2016 edition of the Best Colleges guidebook will be in stores Sept. and is available at USNews.com. The print edition of the "Best Colleges 2017" guidebook can be purchased online now or on newsstands October 4.

SCU is featured here: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/santa-clara-1326

About Santa Clara 
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact
Tina Vossugh | SCU Media Relations | tvossugh@scu.edu | 408-554-5126