GENESEO, N.Y. – "Washington Monthly" magazine has ranked SUNY Geneseo first overall on its list of 632 master’s universities in the nation for its contributions to the public good across three broad categories: social mobility, research and service. It’s the fifth year in a row that Geneseo has been in the top five schools in the rankings but the first year the college has ranked first.
Geneseo also ranked 70th in the northeast for “Best Bang for the Buck” among the 385 colleges in the survey’s northeast category.
“Geneseo has always ranked highly in this survey but to be at the top of the list in our category emphasizes the sincere value we place on serving the public good,” said Meaghan Arena, Geneseo’s vice president for enrollment management. “It’s part of the student experience at Geneseo, and both current students and alumni tell us it’s among the most rewarding aspects of their time here.”
The magazine’s 2017 rankings include 632 colleges in its master’s universities category, which includes schools that offer comprehensive undergraduate programs, some master's programs but few, if any, doctoral programs. Geneseo offers master’s degrees in education and accounting.
The magazine defines social mobility as recruiting and graduating low-income students and helping them earn degrees. The research category comprises the production of cutting-edge scholarship and students who go on to earn doctorates. Service was defined as encouraging students to give something back to their country. The overall score is calculated by combining the scores of all three categories.
Geneseo fared particularly well in the service category, ranking first in encouraging students to give something back to their country. The college also ranked 11th in the number of alumni who go on to produce cutting-edge research and earn a doctorate and ranked 7th in the nation in the number of alumni who serve in the Peace Corps, relative to size.
"Washington Monthly" has published its rankings since 2005.