Goucher College recognized in 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges

Goucher College has been honored in multiple categories of the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, including being named one of the Best National Liberal Arts Colleges, one of the Most Innovative Liberal Arts Colleges, one of the Best Liberal Arts Colleges for Undergraduate Teaching, and having one of the Top Academic Programs to Look For: Study Abroad. Goucher was also recognized for Campus Ethnic Diversity at a Liberal Arts College.

“Being recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation underscores our continued commitment to the liberal arts, student success and innovation, equity and inclusion, and the importance of global education,” says Kent Devereaux, Goucher College president. “These elements are woven into every aspect of a Goucher education and support our graduates’ success after college. We are especially proud of our faculty for being nationally recognized for the expertise, mentorship, and hands-on learning experiences they provide to Goucher students.”

To continue its legacy as an innovative, national leader, Goucher recently launched a new strategic plan concentrating on the college’s programs, people, and resources, with key elements of the plan including enhancing student success, expanding global education, and emphasizing inclusivity.

In the 2020-21 academic year, Goucher hired six new tenure-track faculty members, bestowed tenure on six others, promoted four faculty members to full professor, converted seven more faculty from non-tenure-track to tenure-track or professor of practice positions, and created two new endowed professorships.

“Our quality of undergraduate teaching here at Goucher is indeed superb in both our general education and our majors, and we are delighted to have national recognition of that fact,” says Elaine Meyer-Lee, Goucher College provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Our professors employ innovative interactive techniques and forward-looking curricula in the classroom to equip all our students to address the complex problems facing our world, while also mentoring them into research opportunities and real-world settings.”

Building on its history as one of the first liberal arts institutions to require all its undergraduates to study abroad, Goucher has also expanded its scope of global education. Last academic year, while studying abroad was limited due to the pandemic, Goucher faculty and staff creatively built programs to keep students connected to the world through global engagement seminars, virtual exchanges, and speaker series.

In addition to these new U.S. News & World Report rankings, The Princeton Review also recently named Goucher College one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates in the 2022 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 387 Colleges. Washington Monthly also included Goucher in its list of top 2021 Liberal Arts Colleges as well as Best Colleges for Student Voting.