National Recognition
Plenty of colleges and universities help their students succeed, but the best schools are the ones that truly transform the lives of their graduates.
Studies and rankings consistently recognize Mount Saint Vincent among the best in the nation for its commitment to extraordinary student success. We are an engine for social and economic mobility and are known as one of the most transformative colleges and universities in the United States. We are proud to be nationally recognized.
Year after year, the University of Mount Saint Vincent and its students are recognized for everything from academic excellence to commitment to service. Let us put a few of our recent rankings into perspective.
For the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has named the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the top colleges and universities for social mobility—and we have been highly ranked every year since U.S. News began a separate ranking for social mobility. The Mount ranked #1 among the Top Performers on Social Mobility and is #9 in the Regional Colleges North category, according to the 2024 Best Colleges rankings.
Mount Saint Vincent has been named a College of Distinction for the 2024-2025 academic year, receiving top honors for our dedication to fostering hands-on learning, strong student-faculty relationships, an active campus community, and stellar student outcomes. While we can’t say that we’re surprised that Colleges of Distinction bestowed this honor on us yet again, we remain ever-grateful to continue to be recognized among the most transformative institutions in the U.S.
We’re proud to announce that the University of Mount Saint Vincent has been recognized as one of the 2024 Money Best Colleges in America with a four-star rating! A four-star rating is a significant accomplishment, as it indicates that the Mount not only has significant resources in place to help our students succeed in the classroom, but our students also demonstrate significant outcomes related to career readiness after graduation.
The University of Mount Saint Vincent earned the highly regarded Campus Prevention Network (CPN) Seal of Prevention for our digital prevention and wellness programs in 2023. The CPN Seal of Prevention, presented by Vector Solutions, is an evidence-based standard for campus leadership that rises from the many challenging dynamics in higher education today and distinguishes campuses using rigorous, high-impact digital prevention programs.
The New York Times has ranked the University of Mount Saint Vincent #4 on their list of the Top U.S. Colleges With the Greatest Economic Diversity. The most recent publishing of the College-Access Index—which was first published in 2014 and later revised in 2017—includes a list of the country’s most selective colleges and universities ranked in order of economic diversity.
For the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the top colleges and universities for social mobility. As for specifics, the University is proud to share that it is ranked #4 among the Top Performers on Social Mobility and is #11 in the Regional Colleges North category, according to the 2023 Best Colleges rankings.
WSJ/THE recognized the Mount among 800 colleges and universities in its 2022 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings. The WSJ/THE Best Colleges has received critical acclaim for its pioneering approach that places student success and learning at its heart. This recognition in the Northeast Region category showcases once again the excellent, high-quality academic education that the Mount offers, and the exceptional career opportunities our students have.
Historical prestige tends to outweigh student outcomes in the most popular rankings, resulting in the same highly-selective and well-resourced schools getting shuffled around the best colleges lists year after year. And instead of questioning why these schools don’t admit their fair share of low-income students or students of color, these rankings continue to reward schools based on how many students they exclude—not how many they truly serve. Enter the University of Mount Saint Vincent, who not only continues to serve all students exceptionally well, but who has received a Tier 1 ranking, placing in the top 20 percent for economic mobility on a report from the national think tank Third Way—also highlighted by Forbes.
Mount Saint Vincent was included as a 2023-2024 College of Distinction and, as per usual, we were recognized for efforts in other additional categories—New York, Catholic, Career Development, Business, Education, and Nursing. Our inclusion on the various lists validates and celebrates UMSV’s exceptional, life-changing opportunities for all students in and outside the classroom.
The University of Mount Saint Vincent was ranked #17 among regional universities in the northern U.S. and was first—yes, first—among private, not-for-profit colleges in New York City for social mobility, according to the 2022 Best Colleges rankings issued by U.S. News & World Report.
Mount Saint Vincent has yet again been recognized by Colleges of Distinction in 2022-2023 for its honorable commitment to helping undergraduate students learn, grow, and succeed—but that’s not all. The University has also received endorsements for six additional categories—Catholic, New York, Business, Education, Nursing, and Career Development—proving that the Right Place on the River is much more than just one of the most famous collegiate catchphrases out there.
Mount Saint Vincent has once more been included in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s 2021 College Rankings. The WSJ/THE Best Colleges, now in its fifth year, has received critical acclaim for its pioneering approach—one that puts student success and learning at its heart. The University has been recognized each year since its inception. Capturing four key areas of performance, the ranking of more than 800 colleges and universities is calculated from survey responses of more than 170,000 current college students.
Mount Saint Vincent continues its streak, receives national endorsement for exceptional academic and career development programs. Not only were we included as a 2020-2021 College of Distinction—which recognizes our ability to provide a personalized education catered to students’ interests while exhibiting the Colleges of Distinction’s four overarching distinctions—but we were recognized for efforts in six additional categories.
The Mount debuted at #15 in U.S. News & World Report’s Top Performers on Social Mobility list as part of their 2020 rankings. UMSV’s inclusion was part of U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever social mobility list, measuring how well colleges serve low-income students, especially regarding their graduation rates—something the University does, and continues to do, exceptionally well.
Money magazine recognized the University of Mount Saint Vincent among the Top 30 Most Transformative Colleges nationwide in its “Best Colleges for Your Money 2019” list.
Nursing Schools Almanac featured the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the 75 best nursing schools in New York in 2019. They collected data on more than 3,000 institutions and evaluated each school on academic prestige and perceived value; the breadth and depth of nursing programs offered; and student access, particularly on the NCLEX licensure examination.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recognized the University of Mount Saint Vincent as first in the nation for two of three categories of student success and social mobility, and top five in all three.
Money magazine included the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the highest-ranking Best Small Colleges in the nation in 2018.
Once again, Mount Saint Vincent received the title of “College of Distinction,” along with fewer than 400 colleges and universities nationwide. The University garnered the title for its efforts in undergraduate student success and satisfaction and has been recognized in six additional categories—New York, Catholic, Career Development, Business, Education, and Nursing.
Study.com recognized Mount Saint Vincent for being #30 among the 50 most diverse colleges and universities in the country and for offering one of the 50 best nurse practitioner programs in the nation.
College Consensus ranked the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the Best Regional Universities in the North for 2018.
Due to its profound commitment to innovative, high impact educational practices, Mount Saint Vincent earned recognition among the nation’s 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Colleges of Distinction.
Mount Saint Vincent is frequently featured by U.S. News & World Report‘s best colleges rankings. In 2018, UMSV was featured in the Best Regional Universities North Rankings.
Mount Saint Vincent was included among the top-performing schools in the North regional rank of the 2018 College & University Rankings by WalletHub.
Mount Saint Vincent earned Field of Study Colleges of Distinction badges in Nursing, Education, and Business, reflecting its extraordinary array of exceptional programs.
TFE Times ranked the University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of the nation’s best colleges.
LearnHowToBecome.org (LHTB) recognized the University of Mount Saint Vincent for offering one of the richest learning environments in the state of New York.
Best College Reviews named the University of Mount Saint Vincent one of the top 50 Best Small Colleges in the U.S.
The New York Times highlighted a study on student economic mobility by UC Berkeley and the U.S. Department of the Treasury ranking Mount Saint Vincent third among 578 selective independent colleges and universities nationwide.
Federal study celebrates University of Mount Saint Vincent as one of five colleges and universities—and the only private, independent institution—to be recognized for its mission to serve economically disadvantaged students.
The Mount was recognized by Washington Monthly in the “Best Bang for the Buck” category based on net price and ranked #26 for social mobility among the best 255 liberal arts colleges nationwide.
Mount Saint Vincent provides best value to students and is one of ten New York State institutions to receive an A range ranking for “value added” according to Money magazine.
The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities has identified the University of Mount Saint Vincent as a “regional leader” for STEM-educated college graduates in a report on New York independent colleges.