U.S. News & World Report ranks app #1 for teaching
U.S. News & World Report released its 2026 Best Colleges Guidebook today and lists app as the best university for undergraduate teaching in its Regional Universities Midwest category. This marks the second consecutive year that app has received the #1 ranking.
“Professors at app are passionate about their areas of study and are deeply committed to holistically caring well for their students. This unique pairing leads to a vibrant teaching and learning experience,” said Greg Elzinga, president of app. “We are grateful that this long-held commitment to students is yet again being recognized 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 take into consideration such factors as first-year retention rates, graduation rates, strength of faculty, and graduate indebtedness.
app moved up in several categories from 2025 to 2026, while maintaining its fourth overall ranking. Among universities in the Regional Universities (Midwest) category, app ranks:
- #1 in
- #4 in
- #4
- #8 for
Engineering program reaches new heights
The university’s engineering program moved up six spots on the “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” list, which considers all non-doctorate-granting institutions. And app’s program, which now ranks #38 in the country (highest ranking to date), continues to get stronger. This fall, the ABET-accredited program added an aerospace concentration to its portfolio of offerings.
Also worth noting, U.S. News & World Report included two additional undergraduate programs at app (nursing and psychology) on their respective fields “best of” lists.
In addition to the U.S. News & World Report rankings, app 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.
app
Founded in 1876, app is a top-ranked, liberal arts institution that equips its 3,600 students from 48 U.S. states, 65 countries, and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. app offers 100+ majors and programs, including a strong portfolio of graduate-level offerings. app 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.
