The University of North Texas is one of the top 100 American universities for ethnic diversity and social mobility, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best College Rankings released Monday.
The annual rankings report also rated UNT 140thamong the nation’s top public schools, marking the first time UNT earned a spot on the coveted list.
UNT has long celebrated its unique campus culture, attributing much of what makes the community special to its diversity. The report rated UNT 58thnationwide for ethnic diversity with more than half of UNT’s students representing diverse racial and ethnic groups.
“Our notable growth in the quality, diversity and breadth of our student population is a sign of important change and momentum and it is wonderful to see our efforts recognized in national publications like U.S. News & World Report,” said UNT President Neal Smatresk, Ph.D. “UNT students and faculty make a tremendous impact on the world through innovative research, creative pursuits, and continuously win top honors and international competitions. Our students graduate prepared to enter the rapidly changing workforce and make meaningful contributions.”
U.S. News & World Report also added a new ranking for social mobility in 2020, and UNT cracked the top 100, sliding in at No. 96 on the inaugural list. The social mobility category measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. The majority of Pell Grant money goes to students with a combined family income of less than $20,000 a year.
Nationally, there are both gender and racial/ethnic gaps in college graduation rates. INSIGHT into Diversity recently recognized UNT for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, partly because of the university’s programming aimed at improving graduation rates for African American men.
Diversity and social mobility aren’t the only top categories for the university. Six UNT graduate programs also were rankedamong the nation’s top 50 by U.S. News & World Reportin the magazine’s annual list of Best Graduate Schools this spring.