Once again U.S. News & World Report named several Nazarene institutions of higher education among "America's Best Colleges." The publication released their rankings for 2016 this week.

Rankings are broken down into specific categories. The first 75 percent of schools in each category are given individual rankings. The next group of schools is in a "rank not published" section listed in alphabetical order, followed by an "unranked" section.

National Universities
Schools in the National Universities category, such as Harvard University and Princeton University, offer a full range of undergraduate majors, master's, and doctoral degrees. These colleges also are committed to producing ground-breaking research.

One Nazarene school was placed in the National Universities category (click on the school's name for U.S. News profile) [Last year's rank]:

Trevecca Nazarene University (Rank not published [Rank not published]; Nashville, Tennessee; Dan Boone, president)


Regional Universities
Regional Universities offer a full range of undergrad programs and some master's programs but few doctoral programs. Regional Universities include Villanova University, The Citadel, Butler University, and Gonzaga University.

These rankings are split into four regions: North, South, Midwest, and West.

Six Nazarene universities were placed in this category (click school for U.S. News profile) [last year's ranking]:

MidAmerica Nazarene University (Rank not published [Rank not published]; Olathe, Kansas; David J. Spittal, president)

Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Midwest No. 61 [67]; Mount Vernon, Ohio; Henry Spaulding, president) 

Northwest Nazarene University (West No. 61 [43]; Nampa, Idaho; Joel Pearsall, interim president) 

Olivet Nazarene University (Midwest No. 54 [49]; Bourbonnais, Illinois; John C. Bowling, president)

Point Loma Nazarene University (West No. 17 [16]; San Diego, California; Bob Brower, president)

Southern Nazarene University (West No. 83 [84]; Bethany, Oklahoma; Loren P. Gresham, president)


National Liberal Arts Colleges
Among the National Liberal Arts Colleges are schools like Amherst College and Middlebury College, which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study.

One Nazarene school was placed in this category (click school for U.S. News profile) [last year's ranking]:

Eastern Nazarene College (Rank not published [Rank not published]; Quincy, Massachusetts; Corlis McGee, president)


For more information, see usnews.com.

For the publication's methodology in creating their 2016 rankings, click here.