TU ranked among best regional, global universities

By Rebecca Kirkman on August 24, 2020

Not only is Towson University one of the best places to get an education in the U.S., it’s ranked among the best universities in the world.

In a global assessment of 20,000 institutions of higher education, the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) placed Towson University among the top 9% of universities worldwide in its 2020-2021 World University Rankings. To create the list, CWUR assesses the quality of education, alumni employment and research output.

And Princeton Review again named Towson University among the best colleges in the Northeast in its 2021 Best Colleges: Region by Region list.

Students surveyed for the ranking value the “diverse and inclusive” campus with professors who are “willing to go the extra mile,” and appreciate career development through the “many internships” available in the Greater Baltimore area.

In the “Best Northeastern” list, TU was among 224 universities in 11 states that were chosen for being the most academically outstanding in the region. The Princeton Review does not assign numerical rankings.

“Towson University continues to be recognized as one of the best colleges in the region, the nation and the world,” President Kim Schatzel says. “That the Princeton Review recognition reflects that students value the benefits of our inclusive campus culture and world-class faculty is particularly meaningful.”

Towson University is joined by the University of Maryland, College Park, UMBC and Salisbury among those in the University System of Maryland on the Princeton Review regional list.

Students surveyed by the Princeton Review also praised the campus community as one where “you can get to know your professors and classmates” and fellow Tigers for being “open to any and every other person on campus.” 

The Princeton Review school profiles include ratings in six categories from “Academics” to “Green.” The ratings are scores from 60 to 99 tallied primarily from institutional data, though some ratings additionally factor in student survey data. Among Towson University’s Princeton Review ratings are scores of 75 for quality of life, 80 for admissions selectivity and 96 for green.

Earlier this year, TU was given a four-star ranking by Campus Pride Index for inclusivity and named the best college in the Baltimore Sun Best of 2020 poll. It was also ranked in the top 1% of universities for military veterans and among the nation’s best for Jewish students.

Here’s how TU stacks up in other rankings:

• The U.S. News & World Report 2020 America’s Best Colleges guide ranked Towson University 98th among public national universities. TU also ranked in the top 100 among universities in diversity and tied Harvard University in social mobility. Read more.
• Money magazine ranked Towson University 107th on its 2019 Best Colleges for Your Money list, where TU again joined the University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University as Maryland’s highest-ranked institutions. Read more.
• Forbes ranked TU 320th in a field of 650 public and private colleges surveyed for its 2019 America’s Top Colleges list. TU also placed 137th out of 299 public and private institutions on the Forbes 2019 America’s Best Value Colleges ranking. Read more.
• Washington Monthly ranked Towson University No. 58 among national universities in its 2019 College Rankings. Towson University was also recognized as one of the top 80 universities and colleges for student voting in the country. Read more.
• Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education 2020 student-sourced rankings put TU in the No. 394 slot on a national list of more than 800 U.S. colleges, 90 positions higher than the 2019 survey. Read more.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland, Lifelong Career Center and Diverse and Inclusive Campus.