JONAH LAGRANGE/THE CREIGHTONIAN

A statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola stands out front of Creighton University’s Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library, reflecting the university’s Jesuit tradition and mission.

Creighton has received national accolades from the 2027 U.S. News and World Report, getting its highest-ever rankings to date. Creighton is now ranked No. 100 in universities across the United States.  

While rankings are important, faculty and students also believe the numbers are reflections of the culture and community that Creighton has instilled. 

For the College of Nursing, which was placed in the top 6% of undergraduate nursing programs nationwide, “rankings matter because they provide external recognition of academic excellence, strengthen institutional reputation and build confidence among students, families, employers, clinical partners and donors,” said Jessica Clark, dean of the nursing program, in an email. 

At the same time, Clark acknowledges that rankings cannot truly encompass what it means to receive the nursing education which creates dedication to others through the clinicals or service that Creighton emphasizes.  

“Excellence in nursing education is about more than rankings,” Clark affirms over email. “It is about the lives our graduates will touch, the communities they will serve and the difference they will make in healthcare for generations to come. I could not be prouder of our College of Nursing and the remarkable people who make this achievement possible.” 

JONAH LAGRANGE/THE CREIGHTONIAN

Creighton’s campus reflects the community behind its record-high national rankings.

For the university as a whole, Creighton was ranked No. 32 for undergraduate teaching, No. 55 in private universities and within the top 10 in private Catholic universities. 

According to Vice Provost of Enrollment Management, Mary Chase, rankings are valuable to the marketplace, but not something that Creighton is necessarily chasing. 

Instead, Creighton “is mission-focused, with students in the community being the focus for learning and formation,” Chase says, which is a huge part of ranking organizations criteria. 

Chase also acknowledges multiple other reasons for Creighton’s high rankings: top-notch faculty who engage with students and research, strong retention and graduation rates driven by positive student experiences and effective social media storytelling that spreads the university’s message. 

Creighton also received commendable rankings for the Heider College of Business. In business programs across the nation, there were three Creighton majors that earned top-20 recognition, with analytics at No. 14, finance at No. 17 and accounting at No. 20.  

Heider College of Business sophomore Maria Oppelt cites the opportunities Creighton provides within the business program as a source of success and the contribution to their rankings.  

“There’s just so many ways to help prepare for life after university,” Oppelt confirms. 

Oppelt identifies the student-run iJay store, investment classes that handle real money to trade, etiquette dinners and support from professors and the John P. Fahey Career Center as some of the reasons students succeed in these business majors ––learning applicable skills for jobs after graduation.  

While the university is very proud of the hard work it is receiving recognition for, Chase understands that continuing with typical tradition will allow Creighton to flourish further. 

“We’re right where we want to be,” Chase said. “We continue to improve in key metrics that we believe are important to our mission as a Catholic, Jesuit university.”