Aerial photo of campus overlooking Tinkham Veale University Center, Kelvin Smith Library, Severance Hall and more

CWRU remains at 42nd in U.S. News & World Report rankings

Case Western Reserve remained at 42nd in this year’s U.S. News & World Report national universities’ rankings, while the university’s undergraduate nursing program debuted at 10th in the magazine’s inaugural rating of bachelor’s programs in the discipline.

The campus saw minor moves in most categories, which altogether increased its overall score by one point, to 73, a 13-point improvement over the institution’s tally in 2010. The largest rankings jump this year came in the faculty resources category, where Case Western Reserve improved by 16 notches to 32nd. Criteria for this ranking include class size, compensation, and the percentage of faculty with a terminal degree in their fields. 

“We know that the pandemic made the past academic year unlike any other we have experienced,” President Eric W. Kaler said. “Under the leadership of Interim President Scott Cowen, Case Western Reserve did a remarkable job of protecting the campus, continuing teaching and research, and providing expertise, support and vaccines for Cleveland residents. In a crisis, those are the kinds of criteria that matter most.”

As with other undergraduate disciplines’ rankings, nursing’s new measure is based on voting among peers from that area—in this instance, deans and senior faculty members from accredited nursing schools. The Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing received an average rating of 4.2 out of 5, placing it just behind the University of Pittsburgh and Oregon Health and Science University, and tied with eight other schools, among them Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota, and UCLA.

“We are honored that our colleagues view us so highly,” Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Dean Carol Musil said. “Our undergraduate program—which includes clinical experiences in students’ first weeks—has always been strong, but our opening of the Health Education Campus with Cleveland Clinic has created even greater opportunities for excellence.”

In other undergraduate disciplines’ rankings, Case Western Reserve’s computer science program leapt 11 notches to 60th, business climbed two spots to 36th, and engineering overall fell three slots, to 45th. Biomedical engineering, however, climbed four notches to 12th.