Winthrop Rated as Top 5 Public Regional University in 'Best Colleges' Rankings (09/24/24)

September 24, 2024

HIGHLIGHTS

• Winthrop is ranked fifth in public universities in the South and maintains its highest ranking for the second year in a row.
• It also remains a top university in the South for veterans, social mobility and for affordability, according to the 2025 rankings released on Sept. 24.

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - U.S. News & World Report's latest edition of "Best Colleges" ranks Winthrop University as one of the top five institutions among public universities in the South.

Winthrop is ranked fifth and maintains its highest ranking for the second year in a row. It also remains a top university in the South for veterans, social mobility and for affordability, according to the 2025 rankings released on Sept. 24.

President Edward Serna '02 said Winthrop's steady climb in this third-party endorsement shows that the university is on the rise. "We have several initiatives underway as part of our new strategic plan, Winthrop: United in Excellence, that will contribute greatly to our mission of enriching our students' lives and our community," Serna said. "It shows that we take our commitment to academics and the overall university experience very seriously."

The new strategic plan has introduced new majors based on market demand and will launch Winthrop Elevate, a competency-based education model, for some programs in January. Elevate will help adults who did not complete their college education to finish the coursework needed to get a degree.

"Getting a college education remains an American dream as a way to move ahead in this country. The Winthrop experience allows students to grow in their fields of study and accomplish their dreams, whether they are traditional, non-traditional, transfer, legacy or first-generation students," Serna said. "Attending college, and particularly Winthrop, remains a solid investment for an individual's future and changes a family's trajectory in a positive way."

Winthrop held steady among the newsmagazine's Best Public Regional Universities in the South in the following categories:

· Remained at 5th in Top Public Schools.

· Rose from 13th to 12th place for social mobility, which measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants (those typically coming from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually).

· Rated 6th in Best Colleges for Veterans.

· Rated 12th in overall rank for public and private institutions.

· Rated 35th place as a Best Value.

· Included in the rankings among undergraduate business, computer science and psychology programs.

U.S. News & World Report has published its "Best Colleges" rankings since 1983. The rankings can be used as a starting point for families searching for the best educational experience for their student. The organization overhauled its criteria last year to place more emphasis on outcome measures and data that was universally reported.

Serna added these rankings are bolstered by Winthrop's accolades in Money Magazine as a Best Value College and continued inclusion in The Princeton Review's Best Southeast Colleges annual rankings. Meanwhile, the area that Winthrop calls home is making headlines of its own. The city of Rock Hill is listed as one of the top 50 places in the country to raise a family in Fortune.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or e-mail her at [email protected].