US News ranks Cal Lutheran 9th in West

University among best for teaching, innovation, vets

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Cal Lutheran moved up 13 spots to rank third in the West for Best Undergraduate Teaching.

Photo: Brittany App

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 9, 2019) California Lutheran University has jumped to its highest spot ever in the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, ninth among regional universities in the West.

Cal Lutheran is ranked five spots higher than its previous best of 14th. The 2020 list, which was released today, includes a total of 113 ranked universities in 15 Western states that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s degrees but few doctoral programs.

The Thousand Oaks-based university moved up 13 spots to rank third in the West for Best Undergraduate Teaching and improved three spots to rank fifth for Best Colleges for Veterans. 

Among regional universities in the West, Cal Lutheran also ranked:

  • sixth among A-Plus Schools for B Students
  • 12th among the Most Innovative Schools
  • 13th among Best Value Schools
  • 29th for Campus Ethnic Diversity
  • 36th among Top Performers on Social Mobility

U.S. News gave the greatest weight in its rankings to a university’s success at retaining and graduating students. For the first time this year, schools were given more credit for graduation rates accomplished with high proportions of students who were the first in their families to attend college. Nearly 30 percent of Cal Lutheran’s undergraduates are first-generation college students, and one-third of those in the Class of 2019 were the first in their family to earn a college degree.

Cal Lutheran made several other top college lists recently, including: 

  • Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges 

— 50th among all universities in the West

— 172nd among private colleges nationwide 

— 255th among all universities nationwide

  • Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings

— 66th in the West

— 351st nationwide

  • Kiplinger’s Best College Values

— 94th out of private universities nationwide

— 283rd out of all universities nationwide

  • Washington Monthly 

— 95th among Best Bang for the Buck Colleges in the West 

— 205th among master’s universities nationwide for contributing to the public good through social mobility, service and research

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