Wagner College was listed among the Top 100 master’s universities in the country “that serve the best interests of the country as a whole” in the Washington Monthly magazine’s 2019 college rankings, which were released today.
Wagner College was ranked #97 of the 606 colleges and universities across the United States that grant master’s degrees — in the top 16% nationwide.
According to its editors, the Washington Monthly rankings rate colleges and universities on “three equally weighted portions: social mobility, research, and community and national service.”
“Unlike U.S. News & World Report, which rewards institutions for prestige, wealth, and exclusivity,” the Washington Monthly editors write, “the Monthly calls attention to colleges that serve the best interests of taxpayers and the country as a whole — including by enrolling and graduating students of modest means.”
Among Wagner’s top indicators, it was ranked:
- Among the top 10% for voting engagement, earning points for demonstrating that the college encourages voter participation among its students.
- #74 for its overall service rank
- #85 for research
- #72 for the percent of its graduates who went on to earn Ph.D.s
- #100 for the number of grads who entered the Peace Corps
Visit the Washington Monthly website for explanations of these rankings.
Wagner College was also named a “Best Bang for the Buck” among northeastern U.S. colleges and universities. Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang” schools are “ranked according to how well they help non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.”
Among Wagner’s affordability indicators for non-wealthy students:
- Twenty-six percent of the Wagner student body consists of first-generation students — that is, students who are members of the first generation in their families to attend college.
- Wagner was ranked #28 out of 606 colleges for its repayment rate — indicating that 86% of its students had already started chipping away at their student loan principal by the time they were 5 years out of college.
- Among master’s universities, Wagner was ranked in the top third — #190 out of 606 — for social mobility. (See this page on the Washington Monthly rankings site for their definition of “social mobility.”)