US News ranks Cal Lutheran 9th in West

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

More

• Cal Lutheran launches new school
  Thu January 23, 2020

  California Lutheran University has formed a new school focused on education beyond traditional bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

• Cal Lutheran CERF gives 2019 VC forecast
  Thu October 31, 2019

  The 2019 Ventura County Economic Forecast Conference will feature analyses of local data and a panel discussion of innovative ideas for improving the region’s economy. The event will also include the Ventura County release of the 2019 Latino Development Collaborative U.S. Latino GDP Report. 

• Play recounts revolt by a Spanish village
  Tue October 29, 2019

  California Lutheran University is staging a historical play by Spain’s most popular Golden Age playwright that speaks to the power of people to overcome oppression, both then and now. 

• State's former poet laureate to read verse
  Mon October 7, 2019

  A free Oct. 23 event at California Lutheran University will feature a reading and lecture by California’s most recent poet laureate and a choral performance of one of his poems.

• Latinos' economic output quantified
  Thu September 26, 2019

  Researchers from California Lutheran University’s Center for Economic Research and Forecasting and the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine released the 2019 Latino Development Collaborative U.S. Latino GDP Report today. 

• Cal Lutheran students to present research
  Wed September 25, 2019

  More than 60 of California Lutheran University’s top undergraduates will present their findings at the 16th Annual Student Research Symposium on Saturday, Oct. 12.

• University adds ethnic/race studies major
  Tue September 17, 2019

  California Lutheran University is adding an ethnic and race studies major to help students gain a deeper understanding of communities of color in the United States and build cultural competence in working with diverse groups.

• US News ranks Cal Lutheran 9th in West
  Mon September 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.

• Expert examines college retention for men
  Thu July 25, 2019

  A California Lutheran University faculty member co-authored a just-released book on addressing the difficulties that men from underrepresented groups encounter in college, and he will discuss the topic during a livestreamed interview next week.

• First-generation graduates to keynote
  Thu May 9, 2019

  Two first-generation college students who found their career paths as undergraduates at California Lutheran University will speak on behalf of more than 500 people picking up advanced degrees at the 2019 Graduate Commencement on Friday, May 17.