Rankings and Recognitions That Really Matter

For a college or university, favorable mention in guidebooks and college rankings aimed at popular audiences is always gratifying. However, what is more meaningful to us are those rankings and recognitions that demonstrate the actual outcomes of a St. Olaf education and the quality of the education we provide to our students. Here are a few in which St. Olaf takes particular pride.

  • According to the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates, St. Olaf ranks 8th overall among baccalaureate colleges in the number of graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees.

    St. Olaf earned top 10 rankings in the following fields: mathematics and statistics (1st); education and religion and theology (2nd); art and music and physical sciences (3rd); chemistry, foreign language, and social service professions (4th); engineering and medical sciences (5th); life sciences (6th); biological science and physics (8th).

  • St. Olaf has had nine Rhodes Scholars. Since 1996, the college has produced more Rhodes Scholars than any other liberal arts college in the nation. Two St. Olaf seniors were selected in the 2008 awards competition. Over the past two decades, only two other liberal arts colleges (Williams and Wellesley) have had the honor of having two selections in a single year.

  • Eight St. Olaf students were named Fulbright Scholars for 2007–08, placing the college among the top 13 baccalaureate institutions in the nation for that competition. Since 1993, 67 St. Olaf students have received prestigious Fulbright scholarships.

  • 26 St. Olaf students have received Goldwater scholarships since 1995. The scholarships, which are granted to sophomores and juniors in mathematics, science and engineering, are selected on the basis of academic merit.

  • 78 percent of St. Olaf students study abroad before graduating. According to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors 2007 Report on International Educational Exchange, St. Olaf ranked 2nd among baccalaureate institutions in the number of students studying abroad for the 2005–06 academic year.

  • St. Olaf consistently ranks as one of the top 20 small colleges and universities in the nation (5,000 students or fewer) in the number of graduates who serve in the Peace Corps. For 2008, St. Olaf placed 9th among its peers in current Peace Corps volunteers.

  • St. Olaf had 43 National Merit Scholars in the freshman class that arrived on campus in the fall of 2007. The college ranks 5th among liberal arts colleges and 49th overall among the more than 3,000 accredited four-year colleges and universities in the nation in the number of merit scholars in that class.

  • St. Olaf has earned six Academic All-American selections: three in baseball and one each in football, volleyball, and women’s track and field. Sixty-seven student-athletes received Academic All-Conference recognitions by the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2006–07.