SDSU Highly Ranked for Quality, Alumni Career Success
The value and impact of an education at San Diego State University was highlighted in a recent Money magazine ranking.
According to a newly released ranking by Money magazine, San Diego State University is one of the best universities in the nation for academic quality, affordability and alumni success.
A nod to the university’s high value and strong impact on the lives of its students and alumni, Money ranked SDSU No. 79 among national public universities and No. 135 overall among public and private institutions. A total of 727 schools were ranked this year.
“We are humbled by and proud of this recognition, which reflects SDSU's commitment to world-class teaching and research that supports our exceptional faculty and students—the future global citizens, compassionate leaders, and ethical innovators who will contribute to San Diego’s economy and impact the world at large," said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. “It’s exciting that 60 percent of our graduates remain in the San Diego region after graduation because they create a powerful ripple effect that produces exponential health and wealth for our local economy.”
READ: SDSU Ranked Among Nation's Best by The Princeton Review
The rankings are based on 26 factors in three categories: quality of education, affordability and outcomes. The criteria for quality of education included graduation rates and Pell Grant recipients; the affordability ranking was based on factors that included net price of the degree, time to obtain a degree and both student and parent higher education debt; and the outcomes category incorporated statistics including graduates’ earnings.
“Consider the replication effect when more than 60 percent of our graduates remain in the San Diego region,” said de la Torre. “This holds tremendous transformative power for our students and their families, and also the health and wealth of our local economy.”
SDSU graduates 75 percent of its students in six years or less. In its profile of SDSU, Money noted that the university’s graduation rate is “nearly 22 percent higher than would be expected for students with similar test scores and economic backgrounds. Additionally, SDSU graduates on average make six percent more in early career earnings than peers who have graduated from similar institutions.”
University officials said the distinction is a validation of the hard work that the university community pours into educational mission.
“We take great pride in this ranking as it highlights our university’s value and illustrates that our graduates enjoy meaningful career success and mobility after their time with us,” said Provost Joseph F. Johnson. “These outcomes—due to the work of our faculty, staff and community partners— are some of the most important as we are training and graduating the future workforce.”
The list was compiled using data from the U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, Equality of Opportunity Project, Payscale.com, Moody’s Analytics and Standard & Poor’s.
