Centenary College named Top National Liberal Arts College by U.S. News and World Report
SHREVEPORT, LA — Centenary College has been designated a Top National Liberal Arts College in U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. Colleges ranked in the U.S. News national liberal arts college category emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences.
Centenary is also ranked #47 out of more than 200 institutions on U.S. News’s “Top Performers in Social Mobility” list. The methodology for this list assesses graduation rates for students receiving federal Pell Grants. Centenary’s interactive profile is available at usnews.com.
“I am happy that Centenary’s academic excellence, student experience, and career preparation have once again been recognized on a national level,” said Centenary president Dr. Christopher L. Holoman. “I’m also excited to be able to celebrate the College’s consistently outstanding performance in U.S. News’s Social Mobility Index, which speaks to our commitment to make an outstanding liberal arts education accessible to the largest number of students possible. Our generous donors help support this effort with charitable gifts to our scholarship funds and special initiatives. Their investment in the College is life-changing for many of our students and I am so grateful for their support.”
The U.S. News ranking system considers data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and other sources to score institutions in several key measures of quality. The overall ranking includes assessments of graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, and alumni giving, among other categories.
Centenary welcomed its largest number of new students since 2009 in fall 2023, resulting in a 19% increase in the total undergraduate student population from fall 2022 to fall 2023. The first-year cohort increased by 47% over the previous year and the fall to fall retention rate increased by 12%. Centenary’s 2023-2024 student body includes representatives from 23 states and 12 countries.