Sonoma State University is beginning a new academic year on a promising note as the university has been included in several recently released academic rankings, including those by Forbes and Princeton Review.
In rankings posted this month, Forbes listed Sonoma State as one of “America’s Top Colleges” for 2019. According to Forbes, the criteria used included alumni salary, student satisfaction, debt, successful graduates, graduation rates and academic success.
Meanwhile, for the fifth year in a row, the Princeton Review has placed Sonoma State in its “Best 385 Colleges” list for 2020 and named the university as one of the “Best Western” colleges for the second time. Using data from 140,000 student surveys from across the country, the Princeton Review compiled its list based on a number of criteria, including academics, quality of life and extracurriculars. SSU represented the CSU in the “best colleges” list alongside Cal State Stanislaus and San Diego State.
“These rankings validate all the hard work of our faculty, staff and students in putting academic excellence, innovation and student success at the forefront of all that we do and all that we are," said Sonoma State President Judy K. Sakaki. "I can't think of better news to help us celebrate the start of a new semester."
Earlier this month, Money magazine also included SSU on its list of “Best Colleges for Your Money.” To begin 2019, Money also ranked SSU as No. 12 on its list of “Best Colleges for Transfer Students.”
Sonoma State also has received a favorable ranking compared to universities around the world, according to the Center for World University Rankings. Sonoma State ranked “in the top 8.4 percent” of the more than 20,000 universities worldwide in the World University Rankings for 2019-20. The rankings were compiled based on quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty and research performance.