The online component of the magazine, which went live on Aug. 17, ranks Fordham at No. 56 among the 262 most prestigious national—or “top-tier”—universities.

The newest placement highlights a dramatic rise from 84th place in 2002. The University shares the 56th position with Boston University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Southern Methodist University, the University of Georgia and the University of Maryland-College Park.

Fordham was ranked fourth among national Catholic universities, behind Notre Dame, Georgetown and Boston College.

“Fordham’s continued climb in the U.S. News & World Report rankings is gratifying, of course,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “The magazine’s designation as one of the nation’s best colleges comes once a year, but it speaks to the day-in, day-out labor and attention of faculty and staff, students and trustees—labor that is no less heroic for being largely unsung.”

“While the University is justly proud of its national reputation and attendant high rankings, Fordham’s most lasting legacies are the men and women educated here, and the research produced by our dedicated and talented faculty,” Father McShane said. “The Fordham community’s sustained work in the service of our mission is humbling and the U.S. News ranking is welcome recognition of that effort.”

The University’s emphasis on undergraduate research may have contributed to its good showing in a relatively new category, “Undergraduate Academic Reputation,” where it earned a score of 68 out of 100.

The U.S. News rankings come two weeks after Fordham boosted its academic and quality-of-life ratings in the 2011 version of The Princeton Review’s influential college guide: The Best 373 Colleges: 2011 Edition.

Fordham also earned the distinction of being one of eight schools in the top tier that has no more than 1 percent of its classes larger than 50 students. In fact, 50 percent of the University’s classes had 20 students or fewer.

In addition to its higher rank, Fordham saw rises in several individual categories:
•    Average freshman SAT scores jumped from 1228 to 1240.
•    Alumni giving rose from 22 to 23 percent participation.
•    Freshman retention increased from 89 to 90 percent.

These and other categories helped contribute to the University’s overall score of 53, up three points from last year.

The magazine defines top-tier national universities as those that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees, often with an emphasis on research. The top category is based on guidelines from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and includes 164 public and 98 private institutions.

U.S. News uses a proprietary methodology that ranks more than 1,400 accredited four-year schools based on a set of 16 indicators of academic quality.

Among the key measures of quality the magazine factors are peer assessments, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources and student selectivity.

This ranking, which matches last year’s result, places Fordham competitively within the top 262 most prestigious universities in the United States and steadies a six-year climb from 84th place in 2002.

In addition to assigning an overall ranking, the magazine recorded gains by Fordham in student retention, class size and alumni giving. This led to a one-point increase in the University’s overall score, from 49 to 50.

“We are not surprised that Fordham continues to hold its high position in the U.S. News & World Report rankings,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “The ranking, and slight increase in overall score, affirms what we already know: that Fordham educates its students with rigor and compassion, preparing men and women not just for careers, but for lives worth living. That said, the strength of a university is hard to capture in a single number.

“Fordham’s national reputation is the result of long-term efforts by faculty and staff in and out of the classroom, and across a wide range of academic and organizational initiatives. That work, intensive and multifaceted, is ongoing irrespective of the University’s position in published rankings,” Father McShane continued. “For their effort and dedication, I am both grateful to, and proud of, the efforts of every member of the Fordham community.”

Results of the 2010 survey were released on the U.S. News website on Aug. 20.

Fordham shares its 61st place ranking with Clemson University, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Purdue University and Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

The University was ranked in the top 25 percent of “national universities”—those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs, and that emphasize faculty research.

The annual survey uses up to 15 indicators of excellence, each assigned a different weight. Fordham showed the largest gain in maintaining small class sizes, with the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students increasing from 47 to 50 percent.

Fordham maintained the distinction of being among only four top-tier schools that virtually avoided class sizes of 50 or more students, holding such classes to just 1 percent.

In addition, median SAT scores of incoming freshmen climbed five points, from 1223 to 1228; student retention rose from 89.3 to 89.7 percent; and the average alumni giving rate increased from 20.6 to 22 percent.

Fordham was ranked fourth among national Catholic universities, behind Notre Dame, Georgetown and Boston College.

The U.S. News survey, which first appeared in 1983, is one of the most influential among several higher education comparisons undertaken annually by publishers such as Barron’s and the Princeton Review. The magazine uses categories developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The magazine compiled its data from more than 1,450 accredited four-year schools, both public and private.te program in International Political Economy and Development.

This ranking, which matches last year’s result, places Fordham competitively within the top 262 most prestigious universities in the United States and steadies a six-year climb from 84th place in 2002.

In addition to assigning an overall ranking, the magazine recorded gains by Fordham in student retention, class size and alumni giving. This led to a one-point increase in the University’s overall score, from 49 to 50.

“We are not surprised that Fordham continues to hold its high position in the U.S. News and World Reportrankings,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “The ranking, and slight increase in overall score, affirms what we already know: that Fordham educates its students with rigor and compassion, preparing men and women not just for careers, but for lives worth living. That said, the strength of a university is hard to capture in a single number.”

“Fordham’s national reputation is the result of long-term efforts by faculty and staff in and out of the classroom, and across a wide range of academic and organizational initiatives. That work, intensive and multifaceted, is ongoing irrespective of the University’s position in published rankings,” Father McShane continued. “For their effort and dedication, I am both grateful to, and proud of, the efforts of every member of the Fordham community.”

Results of the 2010 survey were released on the U.S. News website on Aug. 20; the issue will hit newsstands four days later.

Fordham shares its 61st place ranking with Clemson University, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Purdue University and Texas A&M University in College Station, Tex.

The University was ranked in the top 25 percent of “national universities”—those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs, and that emphasize faculty research.

The annual survey uses up to 15 indicators of excellence, each assigned a different weight. Fordham showed the largest gain in maintaining small class sizes, with the percentage of classes with less than 20 students increasing from 47 to 50 percent.

Fordham maintained the distinction of being among only four top-tier schools that virtually avoided class sizes of 50 or more students, holding such classes to just 1 percent.

In addition, median SAT scores of incoming freshmen climbed five points, from 1223 to 1228; students retention rose from 89.3 to 89.7 percent; and the average alumni giving rate increased from 20.6 to 22 percent.

Fordham was ranked fourth among national Catholic universities, behind University of Notre Dame, Georgetown and Boston College, respectively.

The U.S. News survey, which first appeared in 1983, is one of the most influential among several higher education comparisons undertaken annually by publishers such as Barron’s and the Princeton Review. The magazine uses categories developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to measure schools.

The magazine compiled its data from more than 1,450 accredited four-year schools, both public and private.

In addition to overall score, Fordham bettered its rating in nearly all other categories, including acceptance rate, peer assessment, class size, SAT scores, student retention rate and alumni giving.

“Fordham’s listing in U.S. News and World Report is naturally gratifying,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham. “The annual designation as one of the nation’s best colleges is a welcome recognition of what the University does day in and day out: prepare its students intellectually and spiritually not just for careers, but for lives as men and women fully engaged with the world around them.

“Something I want to emphasize is that the continued rise in the University’s national reputation is the result of the sustained effort and devotion of many faculty and staff, and of course the hard work of the students themselves,” he continued. “I am both proud of and grateful for the dedication and the daily, largely anonymous, efforts of every member of the Fordham community.”

The University shares its 61st-place ranking with Clemson University and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

U.S. News’ ranking survey, which first appeared in 1983, is one of the most influential among several higher education comparisons undertaken annually by publishers such as Barron’s and the Princeton Review. The magazine uses categories developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in order to measure schools. Fordham was ranked in the category of “national universities”—those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, plus master’s and doctoral programs, and that emphasize faculty research.

The annual survey uses up to 15 indicators of excellence, each assigned a different weight. Data for Fordham showed healthy gains in two of the more heavily weighted categories, as the number of full-time faculty rose from 73 to 80 percent, and the graduation rate climbed from 78 to 80 percent. In addition, median SAT scores of incoming freshmen climbed 40 points, and Fordham’s student acceptance rate dipped to 42 percent from 47.

Repeating its performance from last year, Fordham maintained the distinction of being among only four top-tier schools that virtually avoided class sizes of 50 or more students, holding such classes to just 1 percent.

Fordham’s rating also rose slightly in the most heavily weighted category, peer assessment, which takes into account subjective opinions from university presidents, provosts and deans. The category is designed to measure intangible aspects of a university’s program, such as faculty dedication to teaching.

The average alumni giving rate went from 19 to 21 percent.

Fordham was ranked fourth among Catholic universities, behind the University of Notre Dame, Georgetown and Boston College, respectively. U.S. News also surveyed guidance counselors from its “America’s Best High Schools” list on which national universities offered the best education to their students: Fordham was tied for 34th place nationally, along with University of California–Davis, George Washington University and Boston University, among others.