BROOKLYN AND PATCHOGUE, NY – Sept. 14, 2005 – The 2006 ranking of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report named St. Joseph’s College in the top-tier of the “Northern Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category for the fourth consecutive year. With two campuses in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York, this year the College was ranked number 17.

“Being named to the top-tier of U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking for the fourth consecutive year exemplifies the high quality of our students and illustrates the continuing dedication of the College’s faculty and staff to providing an outstanding liberal arts education,” noted President Sister Elizabeth A. Hill, CSJ, J.D.

The ranking of the “Comprehensive Colleges – Bachelor’s” category includes institutions that focus primarily on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs — in the liberal arts and in the professional fields such as business, nursing and education. There are 324 comprehensive colleges-bachelor’s, ranked within four regions: North, South, Midwest and West. The regional groupings are derived from classifications established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

U.S. News & World Report bases its annual rankings on graduation and retention rate, faculty resources, selectivity, faculty/student ratio and the assessment of each school from its peers. St. Joseph’s College’s strong freshman retention rate helped secure the institution’s spot in the top-tier. The College’s continuing dedication to highly personalized instruction is reflected in the 15:1 faculty-student ratio, as well as in the fact that the majority of classes have fewer than 20 students.

ABOUT ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in over 21 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Adult and Professional Education. Graduate degrees are also offered including an Executive MBA, a Master of Science in Management, a Master of Science Degree with a Major in Nursing, a Master of Arts in Literacy/Cognition and a Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education.