In 2018 U.S. News & World Report Rankings, Woodbury Claims Top Spot for International Student Body

Woodbury University today announced that it has the highest percentage of international students — 24 percent – among all Western regional universities in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of colleges and universities (www.usnews.com/colleges).  According to the publication, Woodbury ranked 66th among its Western regional peers. 

Overall, U.S. News noted Woodbury’s 79 percent first-year retention rate and small class size; 82 percent of classes include 20 students or less (and no class exceeds 50 students), and the university maintains an 8:1 student/faculty ratio.

“Diversity and inclusion have long been hallmarks of a Woodbury education and the 2018 U.S. News & World Report rankings affirm our strategic focus on these values,” said Dr. David Steele-Figueredo, Woodbury University President.  “This is a challenging yet tremendously exciting time in which to be an international student at an American university.  Diversity is fundamental to the American educational experience, and we at Woodbury are proud to be a beacon for international students.

“Located in the heart of the Southern California creative economy, we are committed to cultivating students’ innate talents and providing the tools and guidance they need to become innovative professionals,” Steele-Figueredo said.  “As our student/faculty ratio attests, we offer a personal, interactive learning environment that focuses on practice-based professional and liberal arts education.  We add distinct value with our emphasis on faculty-student interaction and active support for student development and achievement.”

“In a global culture, befriending and learning to collaborate with students from other countries can be rewarding personally and professionally,” U.S. News said of its ranking of international student populations.  “Here, [we have identified] the national universities and national liberal arts colleges with the largest proportions of international undergrads during the 2016-2017 academic year.”

First published in 1983, the U.S. News ranking system uses quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality.  Schools are categorized by their mission as defined by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2010.  Institutions in Woodbury’s “Regional University” category offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs but few, if any, doctoral programs.  Regional universities are further divided and ranked in four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West.  U.S. News then gathers data from each college on up to 16 indicators of academic excellence. Each factor is assigned a weight that reflects its judgment about how much a measure matters.  Finally, the colleges and universities in each category are ranked against their peers, based on their composite weighted score.  The complete report is available from U.S. News for a fee.

About Woodbury University

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. The university ranks 15th among the nation’s “25 Colleges That Add the Most Value,” according to Money Magazine, was voted “Best Graduate School” in the Los Angeles Daily News 2018 Readers Choice Awards, and is a 2018-19 College of Distinction. Woodbury was a finalist for the General Community Service Award, a part of the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll recognition program. With campuses in Burbank/Los Angeles and San Diego, the university offers bachelor\\’s degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and College of Liberal Arts, along with a Master of Business Administration, Master of Architecture, Master of Interior Architecture and Master of Science in Architecture. The San Diego campus offers Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture, Master of Interior Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture degrees, as well as a Master of Science in Architecture, Real Estate Development. Visit woodbury.edu for more information.