UNC Asheville was named the fifth best public liberal arts college in the nation by U.S. News & World Report

Experts agree: UNC Asheville is one of the finest public liberal arts universities in the United States.

According to U.S. News & World Report’s latest guide released August 18, UNC Asheville is the fifth best public liberal arts university in America. UNC Asheville has been among the top five in the rankings for six consecutive years.

U.S. News & World Report ranked 215 liberal arts colleges, 22 public and 193 private, in this year’s survey. The annual college rankings look at a range of measures, including academic reputation, commitment to instruction, student abilities, financial resources, and graduation and retention rates.

“We always welcome confirmation of the outstanding liberal arts education that our university provides to students from Western North Carolina, across the state and around the nation,” said
UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder.

Two of UNC Asheville’s program are also among those included in “Programs to Look For,” a special section of U.S. News & World Report’s guide. The section lists eight categories that contain “outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success.”

UNC Asheville’s Undergraduate Research Program is one among only 35 colleges and universities in the nation to be included in the Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects category. UNC Asheville, which founded the National Council for Undergraduate Research, has made this roster since U.S. News & World Report started the listing five years ago.

UNC Asheville is also one of only 39 institutions in the nation to appear in the First-Year Experiences category, which highlights first-year seminars – such as UNC Asheville’s Integrative Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquium – and other academic programs that bring small groups of students together with faculty or staff on a regular basis. This is the second year in a row that UNC Asheville’s program has been included in the list.

Earlier this month, UNC Asheville was named a “Best Buy” by The Fiske Guide to Colleges. This is the 13th consecutive year that UNC Asheville was listed among just 19 American public colleges and universities that qualify as offering “really remarkable educational opportunities at a relatively modest cost.”