APPLETON—Lawrence University is ranked as the No. 1 liberal arts college in Wisconsin and one of the best in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges rankings.
The 2022-23 rankings, released Monday, lists Lawrence 63rd among all liberal arts colleges in the country and highlights Lawrence for its undergraduate teaching and efforts to provide students with an engaged first-year experience.
Lawrence, which draws nearly 40% of its incoming class from Wisconsin and Illinois, saw its rankings climb in four sub-categories—Best Undergraduate Teaching, Best First-Year Experience, Best Value, and Most International Students. It also landed on the list of Top Performers on Social Mobility.
The strong rankings come as Lawrence has continued to lean into the value of a liberal arts education while upgrading and updating academic programs. It has added or strengthened programs in areas including music, data science, computer science, creative writing, neuroscience, psychology, environmental science, ethnic studies and global studies. In some cases, majors or minors were launched. In other instances, endowed professorships were added.
Lawrence has an 8-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, research opportunities across disciplines, an engaged faculty and strong learning and performance avenues through the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music.
Now in its 38th year, the U.S. News rankings evaluate more than 1,450 colleges and universities—including 201 national liberal arts colleges. U.S. News publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to provide prospective students and their families with data and information across a wide range of measurables spanning academic quality, student life, affordability, and more.
“For nearly 40 years, the Best Colleges methodology has continuously evolved to reflect changes in the higher education landscape and the interests of prospective students,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer at U.S. News. “Guiding that evolution is U.S. News’ mission of providing useful data and information to help with one of life’s biggest decisions.”
U.S. News editors say the methodology used to compile the rankings continues to be updated each year and the changes can impact rankings.
