U.S. News & World Report ranks Calvin University #1 for Teaching, #2 for Innovation
U.S. News & World Report released its 2025 Best Colleges Guidebook today and lists Calvin University as the best university for undergraduate teaching and as the second most innovative school in its Regional Universities Midwest category.
“While our professors are leading scholars in their fields, they take seriously their number one priority of equipping students for not only their first job, but also preparing them for a lifetime of service to God’s kingdom in every sector and sphere of society,” said Greg Elzinga, interim president. “So, it is validating to have that long-held commitment to innovative teaching validated by a well-respected industry evaluator like U.S. News & World Report.”
The digital news and information company released the report online today, which helps prospective students and their families evaluate 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities based on up to 19 measures of academic quality and graduate outcomes. These include such things as first-year retention rates, graduation rates, strength of faculty, and graduate indebtedness.
Calvin University moved up in several categories from 2024 to 2025, while maintaining its fourth overall ranking. Among universities in the Regional Universities (Midwest) category, Calvin ranks:
#2 in Most Innovative Schools
#4 Overall
#16 for Best Value
An Elite Engineering Program
In addition, the university’s engineering program is in the Top 50 of the “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” list (#44), which considers all non-doctorate-granting institutions. And this isn’t the first time the program has received national attention.
This past summer, the Fiske Guide to Colleges shortlisted Calvin’s engineering program as one of 16 institutions on its “Small Colleges and Universities Strong in Engineering” category. And this past spring, USA Today highlighted a class project at Calvin that led to engineering students discovering a pathway for the university to move its carbon neutrality target date up nearly a quarter century.
Note: In fall 2025, Calvin is expanding its program to include aerospace engineering.
In addition to the U.S. News & World Report rankings, Calvin University also receives high overall marks from several other leading ranking guidebooks, including Fiske Guide to Colleges, Forbes, Money, Niche, Princeton Review, Washington Monthly, and the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, to name a sampling.
Calvin University
Founded in 1876, Calvin University is a top-ranked, liberal arts institution that equips its 3,600 students from 48 U.S. states, 66 countries, and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. Calvin offers 100+ majors and programs, including a growing portfolio of graduate-level offerings. Calvin students engage in intensive internships, community-based service learning, and significant research that results in publishing and presenting alongside world-class faculty. The university’s 400-acre campus is in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Discover more at www.calvin.edu.
About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, Real Estate, News and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.