Bellarmine University was once more included in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking of the best national universities.
Bellarmine tied with several other universities for number 206 on the list. The university’s overall score rose this year from 37 to 48. The score accounts for factors such as the student to faculty ratio and graduate and retention rates.
"We’re pleased to see our continuous efforts to constantly improve reflected in our overall score increasing," said Dr. Susan M. Donovan, Bellarmine's president. "The rankings allow us to benchmark against prominent institutions as we strive to deliver a transformative student experience and become known as a model for academic innovation."
The 2021 U.S. News national universities list was topped by Princeton University, followed by Harvard University.
Last summer, Bellarmine launched a new strategic plan and July 1 the athletics program moved to NCAA Division I. The university's recent momentum includes naming Dr. Natasha Vijay Munshi as the new dean of the W. Fielding Rubel School of Business and adding seventeen new faculty members.
This is the 27th consecutive year that U.S. News has included Bellarmine in its rankings of the nation's best universities. Bellarmine was previously ranked on a list of regional universities in the South, but was reclassified in recent years with the expansion of its graduate and doctoral programs.
The publication classifies national universities as those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and doctoral programs, and emphasize faculty research or award professional practice doctorates.
Last month, The Princeton Review also recognized Bellarmine as one of the top U.S. universities.