Last Fall, High Point University earned three No. 1 rankings in US News & World Report’s 2024 “Best Colleges” edition – including the top spot for undergraduate teaching.
It was also named the No. 1 Best Regional College in the South and ranked as the No. 1 Most Innovative Regional College in the South. Those were No. 1 rankings that it had earned so many years in a row that one could call it a “dynasty” if college rankings were sports’ team championships.
This week, two of the school’s newest programs pulled in another accolade in the first year it was eligible to be ranked. US News & World Report ranked the school’s Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant programs – divisions of the Congdon School of Health Sciences – in the Top 100.
High Point University’s physical therapy doctoral degree program came in at No. 74 nationally in US News & World Report’s just released 2024 Best Graduate Schools rankings.
One factor that helped the school come in at No. 74 is High Point University’s state-of-the-art facilities in its Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab as well as those at the school’s Physical Therapy Pro Bono Clinic.
The university’s Physician Assistant master’s degree program was ranked No. 65 among the nation’s Best Physician Assistant Programs.
According to a Monday, April 15 press release from the university, graduates of High Point University’s Physician Assistant program regularly achieve 100 percent pass rates on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination.
Dr. Kevin Ford, the dean of the Congdon School of Health Sciences, said the rankings were “truly remarkable” especially considering the newness of the programs.
Ford added, “I am extremely proud that the PA and PT programs have been recognized nationally, in the top 30 percent of programs, the very first time they were each eligible.”
University President Dr. Nido Qubein, who’s never at a loss for words, especially when it comes to promoting his university, said this week, “We appreciate these rankings, which underscore the caliber of High Point University’s faculty, academic rigor and our commitment to providing students with an extraordinary education. We remain laser focused on ensuring students in these graduate programs are prepared to lead in the changing landscape of health care and improve the lives of their patients.”
A lot of prospective students seem to be paying attention to the consistently high national rankings of the school. Last fall, the university admitted the largest number of students in its 100-year history, with just over 6,000 students starting classes in August.
Data collected by the university in accordance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers standards shows that 99 percent of the Class of 2022 were “employed or furthering their education” within a half year of graduating.
That’s 14 points above the national average.
HPU was also named one of America’s best academic institutions in Princeton Review’s “The Best 389 Colleges: 2024 Edition.”
It’s the seventh year in a row that the university was recognized as one of the nation’s top schools based on student reviews.
The Princeton Review also ranked the university in the Top 25 nationally in several other categories, including Best-Run Colleges and Most Beautiful Campus.
