The 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings recognize Knox College for the strength of its academic programs, affordability, and campus diversity. The publication ranks Knox in multiple categories, including best undergraduate teaching and best value.

Knox continues to move up in the national rankings, being named 66th overall among “National Liberal Arts Colleges,” which considers factors such as the academic strength of students and faculty, graduation rates, academic reputation among experts, and alumni giving.

"No ranking can fully capture the quality of a college or university," said Knox College President Teresa Amott about the rankings. "But we are pleased to see Knox recognized as one of the best colleges in the country."

At Knox, every student has the opportunity to participate in transformative moments like research, internships, community service, or study abroad through a Power of Experience Grant. All incoming students receive up to $2,000 to support one of these learning opportunities during their junior or senior year.

This summer, students used the grant to participate in internships around the world, from forecasting major economic indicators for the world’s largest economies in London to teaching music in South Africa and conducting field surveys at an archaeological dig in Portugal.

Knox also offers more than 100 off-campus programs, short-term immersive experiences like Knox in New York and London Arts Alive, and recently began offering courses with immersive travel components to Israel, Mexico, and China. At Knox, 53% of students study off-campus before they graduate.

“Experiences like internships and study abroad allow our students to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to hands-on, real-world situations,” said Paul Steenis, vice president for enrollment. “These experiences help our students learn to think critically and creatively, communicate clearly, and adapt to new technologies.”

In addition to the overall ranking, the 2020 Best Colleges rankings recognized Knox in the following additional areas:

• Knox ranks No. 12 for international diversity and No. 26 for ethnic diversity among National Liberal Arts Colleges.
• Knox ranks No. 53 among National Liberal Arts Colleges for Best Value Schools, a designation that takes into account both academic quality and cost.
• Knox ranks No. 60 among National Liberal Arts Colleges for Best Undergraduate Teaching.
• Knox was named to the publication’s list of “A-plus Schools for B Students,” which looks at the average freshman retention rate for schools who admit a meaningful proportion of students who didn't get straight A's.
• Knox ranks No. 45 in the new U.S. News category, “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which looks at how successful colleges are when it comes to graduating students who received federal Pell Grants.

This is the 35th year that U.S. News has issued its Best Colleges rankings.

Knox College has appeared in other recent college rankings. It was selected as a “Best College Value” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and ranks among the top U.S. colleges in the 2020 edition of The Princeton Review’s annual guidebook, The Best 385 Colleges.