U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Colleges has ranked Dordt University as one of the best among Midwest regional universities. Dordt is also included among Best Value Schools (no. 7), Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs (no. 2), Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs: No Doctorate (tied at no. 62), and more.
Dordt University is ranked sixth among regional Midwest universities, according to U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Colleges. The university is also considered one of the best when it comes to value, undergraduate teaching, and undergraduate engineering.
This is the third year in a row that Dordt University has moved up in the “Regional Universities (Midwest)” ranking; in the 2024 rankings, Dordt was listed at number eight. It is also Dordt's third year in the "Regional Universities (Midwest)" ranking, having previously been listed as part of "Regional Colleges (Midwest)."
-- no. 6 among Midwest regional universities (up two spots from last year!)
-- no. 7 in Best Value Schools, compared to other Midwest regional universities
-- no. 2 in Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs, among Midwest regional universities
-- tied at no. 62 for Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (No Doctorate)
Being in the top 10 of this prestigious group is an encouragement, says Dordt University President Dr. Erik Hoekstra.
“I want to attribute the quality that U.S. News & World Report has recognized to three groups: our faculty and staff who do such a great job equipping our students; our students for their diligent work to ready themselves for lives of service to Christ once they leave Dordt; and to our 22,000+ alumni who are currently serving with distinction as Christ’s ambassadors throughout the world.”
Out of 164 institutions included in the “Regional Universities (Midwest)” ranking, Dordt joins reputable institutions such as Truman State University (no. 5), Butler University (no. 1), and Elmhurst University (no. 7, tied) in the top 10.
Other Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) institutions represented include Northwestern College (no. 43, tied) and Doane University (no. 79). Additional Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) included are Calvin University (no. 4), Indiana Wesleyan University (no. 11), and Olivet Nazarene University (no. 41, tied).
Dordt is also highlighted in other notable U.S. News & World Report findings within the “Regional Universities (Midwest)” ranking:
“The world would have us believe that you have to make a choice between academic excellence and serious Christianity, which is not true."
Dordt moved up seven spots within the “Best Value Schools” category from last year’s rankings. “Best Value Schools” considers a school’s academic quality and the net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.
“The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal,” explains U.S. News & World Report. “Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.”
In U.S. News & World Report, “Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs” asks “top academics to name the schools they believe have faculty with an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.”
“The world would have us believe that you have to make a choice between academic excellence and serious Christianity, which is not true,” says Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for academic affairs. “I love seeing Dordt and other Christian institutions at the top of the ‘Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs’ list as a way to demonstrate that taking faith seriously means that we can then try to live it out with excellence, including what we do academically with our teaching.”
U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Colleges edition used 13 key measures of academic quality for regional universities. U.S. News ranked nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions, grouped within 10 distinct overall rankings where colleges and universities were compared with schools that shared their academic mission. “Regional Universities” offer a broad scope of undergraduate degrees and some master’s degree programs.
About Dordt University
As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt University is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by the Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.
"Fiddler on the Roof," a classic musical exploring family, tradition, and community, will be performed by the talented cast and crew of Dordt University's Theatre Arts Department at the Te Paske Theatre in Sioux Center this fall. Tickets are available for purchase online.
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