About
Rankings and Recognitions
High graduation rates and low costs are among the factors landing JMU a place on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s top 100 “Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2015. JMU placed 21st on the list of four-year public schools that combine outstanding education with economic value.
JMU continues to hold a place in the Princeton Review’s annual book that recommends the colleges the education services company considers the nation's best for academics, affordability and career prospects. “Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Best Value Colleges and What It Takes to Get In -- 2015 Edition” is an expansion of the Princeton Review's annual "Best Value Colleges" list and book. JMU has been listed in the books since 2009.
JMU’s Alternative Break Program was the Break Away National Program of the Year for 2010. The award, which JMU also earned in 1999, recognizes the university’s commitment to active citizenship.
JMU’s commitment to becoming a model steward of the natural world was recognized with a Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award silver medal in April 2014. JMU’s East Campus Hillside Naturalization Project was honored.
JMU is included in the 2015 edition of The Fiske Guide to Colleges, which features more than 300 of the country’s best and most interesting colleges and universities.
JMU is named one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges in The Princeton Review’s “Guide to 353 Green Colleges: 2015 Edition.” Factors considered in the rating system include green building certification programs, environmental literacy programs, formal sustainability committees, use of renewable energy resources and recycling and conservation programs. In 2012, JMU’s Wayland Hall became the first renovated residence hall in the country to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum award, the highest LEED certification status.
JMU’s College of Business is among the top 5 percent of business schools in the world to have earned accreditation by AACSB International. The college is consistently ranked among the top 40 business programs by Bloomberg Businessweek.
JMU is one of the top master’s-level institutions in the country in study-abroad participation, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors 2014 report, which measured study abroad in 2012-13. JMU ranked fourth in the nation in participation in short-term programs and second in total number of students who studied abroad, with 1,102. In addition, JMU compared favorably with similar institutions in semester-long programs (6th) and programs lasting a full academic year or longer (16th).
JMU ranks No. 38 on The Forbes Top 100 Best Buy Colleges 2012 special report.
The U.S. News & World Report 2013 edition of its “Best Colleges” guidebook ranks the university No. 2 on the list of top public schools in the South and includes JMU among colleges and universities that were most often cited by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans who were asked to identify up to 10 schools in their U.S. News ranking category where the faculty has a strong commitment to teaching. JMU is included in the magazine’s listing of schools where students are involved in undergraduate research and creative projects that result in original scholarly papers that can be formally presented on or off campus.
JMU earned a place on the 2014 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for commitment to service and civic engagement on campus and in the nation. JMU has been on the honor roll, which is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, since the list was established in 2006.