University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

University of Northern Iowa

2016 University Academic Rankings
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a university located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.

UNI has consistently been named one of the "Best in the Midwest" in the Princeton Review Best 351 College Rankings guide, and has ranked second in the category "public regional universities (Midwest)" by U.S. News & World Report for twelve consecutive years. UNI's accounting program has consistently ranked in the top 10 universities in the nation for the pass rate of first-time candidates on the CPA Exam.

Class sizes at UNI average around 32 students; they are mostly taught by faculty, not teaching assistants. Tenured and tenure-track faculty teach 75 percent of UNI's classes. The Fall 2013 enrollment is 12,159. Ninety-two percent of its students are from the State of Iowa, in the United States.

For students interested in studying abroad, UNI is ranked fourth in the nation for the total number of students who study abroad among master's degree institutions, according to Open Doors 2002, the annual report on international education published by the Institute of International Education.

History

The University of Northern Iowa was founded as a result of two influential forces of the nineteenth century. First, Iowa wanted to care for orphans of its Civil War veterans, and secondly, Iowa needed a public teacher training institution. In 1876, when Iowa no longer needed an orphan home, legislators Edward G. Miller and H. C. Hemenway started the Iowa State Normal School.

The school's first building opened in 1869 and was known as Central Hall. The building contained classrooms, common areas, and a living facility for most of the students. It was also a home to the college's first principal, James Cleland Gilchrist. The building was the heart and soul of the school, allowing students to study courses of two-year, three-year, and four-year degrees. In 1965, a fire destroyed Central Hall, and school faculty and Cedar Falls citizens donated over $5000 to start building Gilchrist Hall.

Academics | Student Statistics

For the class entering in Fall 2009, 3505 of 4133 applicants were admitted. The mean ACT composite and mean SAT total (critical reading + math) for admitted freshmen were 23.3 and 1035 respectively. That same year, 1470 of 1822 transfer applicants were accepted.

Educational opportunities

The University of Northern Iowa has a very active program of allowing students to pursue educational opportunities outside the state of Iowa and also the country. Students have the ability to study aboard or study at another North American institution though National Student Exchange.

Liberal Arts | Study Abroad Center

UNI provides an opportunity for the students to study in 80+ countries and select from over 1,000 programs. In addition to semester and academic year programs students may choose to take part in summer, faculty-led, and short-term programs abroad. Over 50 study abroad programs are exchanges in which students continue to pay UNI tuition to attend international partner schools. UNI also offers research, internship, and student teaching opportunities abroad. All exchange programs offer courses in English as well as training in the local language, if desired. Students interested in improving foreign language skills have many program choices available to them through UNI Study Abroad programs. UNI Study Abroad Center also offers scholarships to qualified students studying overseas.

Study Abroad participation is rapidly increasing at UNI as more financial support is being offered by individual campus colleges. Internationalization has been integrated into ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "University of Northern Iowa", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

University of Northern Iowa Details

University of Northern Iowa Details
detail value
stateIowa
conferenceMissouri Valley Conference
publicPublic
scores1710/1140/26
levelAboveAverage
rank[252
overall ROI rank[248
sizemedium
undergrads10142
grads1786
price30057
drop31
stem22
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for University of Northern Iowa?

1. number 252 for Academics.

2. number 248 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to University of Northern Iowa?

1. University of Vermont

2. University of North Carolina Wilmington

3. The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

4. Loyola University Chicago

5. College of Charleston

6. University of Colorado Colorado Springs

7. South Dakota State University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

University of Northern Iowa National Academic Rankings

University of Northern Iowa National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Div1 Public794357809091917987
Missouri Valley Conference3354499148
Mid West Region415463334542428058
State of Iowa566343385
Top Ten Missouri Valley Conference3354477108
Top Ten State of Iowa566343365


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

University of Northern Iowa Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa Peer Universities, Similar Universities to University of Northern Iowa
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
92.82
University of VermontVermontAmerica EastPublicAboveAverage136191
91.88
University of North Carolina WilmingtonNorth CarolinaColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage221228
86.55
The University of Tennessee-ChattanoogaTennesseeSouthern ConferencePublicAverage434464
86.55
Loyola University ChicagoIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePrivateAboveAverage228206
86.48
College of CharlestonSouth CarolinaColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage219233
86.33
University of Colorado Colorado SpringsColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePublicAverage451347
86.18
South Dakota State UniversitySouth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage354263
86.14
University of MaineMaineAtlantic 10 Conference / Ameri...PublicAverage248245
85.78
The University of MontanaMontanaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage372232
85.62
Rowan UniversityNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage306392
85.61
University of DaytonOhioPioneer Football League / Atla...PrivateAboveAverage278138
85.58
North Dakota State UniversityNorth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage261196
85.53
Marquette UniversityWisconsinBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage197121
85.47
University of Puerto Rico-Rio PiedrasPuerto RicoIndependent Southeast RegionPublicAboveAverage176232
85.46
Saint Louis UniversityMissouriAtlantic 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage169165
85.27
University of New HampshireNew HampshireColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage221225
85.26
Salisbury UniversityMarylandEmpire Eight / Capital Athleti...PublicAboveAverage243358
84.88
Baylor UniversityTexasBig Twelve ConferencePrivateGood134128
84.78
Western Washington UniversityWashingtonGreat Northwest Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage297338
84.74
University of Louisiana at MonroeLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage485352
84.73
SUNY College at OswegoNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAboveAverage361450
84.50
University of San FranciscoCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage226241
84.44
Syracuse UniversityNew YorkAtlantic Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage172216
83.33
Adelphi UniversityNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365444
83.18
Gonzaga UniversityWashingtonWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage235214
82.63
University of ScrantonPennsylvaniaLandmark ConferencePrivateAboveAverage399368
81.85
California Lutheran UniversityCaliforniaSouthern California Intercoll ...PrivateAboveAverage481488
80.87
University of DallasTexasSouthern Collegiate Athletic C...PrivateAboveAverage282175
79.96
University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage350253
79.90
University of Minnesota-DuluthMinnesotaNorthern Sun Intercollegiate C...PublicAverage464346
79.79
University of Wisconsin-La CrosseWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage302258
79.25
University of Wisconsin-Stevens PointWisconsinWisconsin Intercollegiate Ath ConfPublicAverage466414
79.19
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
79.05
Pace University-New YorkNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAverage476465
78.98
Wichita State UniversityKansasMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage382307
78.87
University of Nebraska at OmahaNebraskaThe Summit LeaguePublicAverage491364
78.56
SUNY at AlbanyNew YorkColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage188218
78.31
University of Rhode IslandRhode IslandColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage270328
78.20
Rutgers University-NewarkNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicAverage371392
77.96
SUNY College at BrockportNew YorkEmpire Eight / State Universit...PublicAverage473487
77.94
Howard UniversityWashington DCMid Eastern Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage343429
77.67
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage350248
77.54
California State University-ChicoCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicAverage392409
77.52
DePaul UniversityIllinoisBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage193150
77.49
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
77.42
Mississippi State UniversityMississippiSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage197130
77.37
University of St ThomasMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage238156
77.34
CUNY Hunter CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage193228
77.25
Clemson UniversitySouth CarolinaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage9851
77.22
Truman State UniversityMissouriGreat Lakes Valley ConferencePublicAboveAverage208189


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

University of Northern Iowa Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to University of Northern Iowa
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
96.99
University of the PacificCaliforniaWest Coast ConferencePrivateAboveAverage251344
96.12
Virginia Military InstituteVirginiaBig South ConferencePublicAboveAverage444227
95.71
West Coast Conference (Low)-West Coast Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-258
94.89
North Dakota State UniversityNorth DakotaMissouri Valley Conference / T...PublicAverage261196
93.99
Calvin CollegeMichiganMichigan Intercollegiate Athle...PrivateAboveAverage255209
93.77
Loyola University MarylandMarylandPatriot LeaguePrivateAboveAverage249245
93.73
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
93.68
University of WyomingWyomingMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage250152
90.79
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
90.74
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeMinnesotaMinnesota Intercollegiate Ath ConfPrivateAboveAverage239210
89.79
University of LouisvilleKentuckyAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAverage258224
89.53
Midwest Conference (Average)-Midwest Conference-Conf-Good-245
89.38
Florida Atlantic UniversityFloridaConference USAPublicAverage305303
88.73
Portland State UniversityOregonBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage308408
88.11
University of Nevada-RenoNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage289340
86.65
Babson CollegeMassachusettsNew England Women's & Men's At...PrivateGood243150