We’re still at the top!
As I noted in last week’s campus update, it’s rankings season, and I’m happy to share some of our latest endorsements with you.
This morning, U.S. News & World Report released its annual “Best Colleges” guidebook, and I am proud to share that Winthrop maintained its highest ranking ever among public universities in the South. This is the second year in a row we’ve held the #5 spot.
I’m also happy to report that Winthrop rose in the rankings for social mobility of our alumni and was again recognized in categories such as best colleges for veterans, best value, and more. I encourage you to read more about these recognitions in the press release below.
We also recently heard from The Princeton Review and have, once again, been named a Best Regional College, and have also continued our streak with Money naming us a Best College. You also may have read that Rock Hill has earned its own recognition. Fortune recently named our city as one of the best to live for families.
While these rankings don’t show the entire picture of all of the great work happening here, it’s satisfying to know that U.S. News and our peers recognize that Winthrop is on the rise. With all that we have planned with phase one of our strategic plan implementation, I know our peers will continue to take note of our momentum and path forward.
Thanks for all that you do to help secure these achievements.
Edward
Edward A. Serna
President
Winthrop Rated as Top Five Public Regional University in “Best College’s” Rankings
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — U.S. News & World Report’s latest edition of “Best Colleges” ranks Winthrop University as one of the top five institutions among public universities in the South.
Winthrop is ranked fifth and maintains its highest ranking for the second year in a row. It also remains a top university in the South for veterans, social mobility and for affordability, according to the 2025 rankings released on Sept. 24.
President Edward Serna ’02 said Winthrop’s steady climb in this third-party endorsement shows that the university is on the rise. “We have several initiatives underway as part of our new strategic plan, Winthrop: United in Excellence, that will contribute greatly to our mission of enriching our students’ lives and our community,” Serna said. “It shows that we take our commitment to academics and the overall university experience very seriously.”
The new strategic plan has introduced new majors based on market demand and will launch Winthrop Elevate, a competency-based education model, for some programs in January. Elevate will help adults who did not complete their college education to finish the coursework needed to get a degree.
“Getting a college education remains an American dream as a way to move ahead in this country. The Winthrop experience allows students to grow in their fields of study and accomplish their dreams, whether they are traditional, non-traditional, transfer, legacy or first-generation students,” Serna said. “Attending college, and particularly Winthrop, remains a solid investment for an individual’s future and changes a family’s trajectory in a positive way.”
Winthrop held steady among the newsmagazine’s Best Public Regional Universities in the South in the following categories:
U.S. News & World Report has published its “Best Colleges” rankings since 1983. The rankings can be used as a starting point for families searching for the best educational experience for their student. The organization overhauled its criteria last year to place more emphasis on outcome measures and data that was universally reported.
Serna added these rankings are bolstered by Winthrop’s accolades in Money Magazine as a Best Value College and continued inclusion in The Princeton Review’s Best Southeast Colleges annual rankings. Meanwhile, the area that Winthrop calls home is making headlines of its own. The city of Rock Hill is listed as one of the top 50 places in the country to raise a family in Fortune.
For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or e-mail her at longshawj@winthrop.edu.
