University Recognition

  • U.S. News & World Report Nationally Ranked Doctoral University: Alvernia University earns the 2023 Best National University designation by U.S. News and World Report. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Alvernia is among the colleges and universities in the top tier of its designation. Additionally, Alvernia was ranked 84 out of 443 in the social mobility indicator, which measures the graduation rate of Pell Grant recipients. 

  • Alvernia University has been recognized as a College of Distinction for its commitment to engaged, experiential education. Listed among the 2023-24 national Colleges of Distinction, Alvernia was noted as a Catholic College of Distinction and a Pennsylvania College of Distinction. As it is an honor to receive these awards, we would like thank all staff and students for their combined efforts in achieving rare level of recognition. 

  •  Abound recognized Alvernia as a 2023 Top 100 Best Online Colleges for Adults. organization that assists adult learners in finding the best higher education opportunities. The university also received recognition in three other categories: Best Online Colleges North, Best Online Colleges Pennsylvania, and Best Online Colleges for Military and Veterans.

  • Money.com included Alvernia in its 2023 Best Colleges rankings. Alvernia was among 736 colleges recognized using Money.com's new scoring system, which assesses 26 factors centered around affordability, financial aid packages, outcomes for graduates and overall quality.

  • Alvernia University earned recognition for providing opportunities and pathways to success for low-income and first-generation college students by being tagged as a “Strive Five” institution by education nonprofit Strive for College. Alvernia earned distinctive honors in the categories of inclusion, completion and outcomes, which are a set of data-based benchmarks that demonstrate a commitment to students from underrepresented backgrounds, and received a customized badge to highlight their dedication to student opportunity and success. 

  • Alvernia University has achieved the 2021 Campus Prevention Network Seal of PreventionTM for exemplary efforts to student safety, well-being, and inclusion through online prevention programs. Fewer than 15% of US institutions have earned this distinction in 2021. Alvernia remains committed to creating the safe and inclusive experience students expect and rely on to thrive in their academic, career, and life pursuits.

  • Alvernia University has been awarded a Colleges of Distinction’s Career Development Badge for 2022-23 for providing exceptional support during every stage of students’ college experience. Alvernia’s Office of Career Development gives students the support they need to explore their career field and begin job applications. The office has many services, partnerships, and programs to help students gain experience and knowledge about their careers and prepares them for life after college. 


Military Friendly

  • Alvernia University achieved Military Friendly ® status for the tenth consecutive year, this year earning the silver award. Alvernia is one of only a little over 600 institutions nationwide to receive the designation for meeting university benchmarks in areas such as student retention, graduation and job placement as well as for being in good standing with federal programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Armed Forces Tuition Assistance Funding.

  • Colleges of Distinction awarded Alvernia University with its Military Support Badge for 2023-24. Alvernia received this award for continually providing a high level of support for its active military duty and veteran students. Alvernia is one of the few institutions across the country that has a physical Veterans Center. This hub offers the resources, support, and advocacy necessary to succeed in higher education. The Veterans Success Team, comprised of a Veterans Center Coordinator and three student veterans, encourages participation in military organizations, develops outreach programs to enlighten the campus community about veteran culture, history, and raises awareness about issues surrounding veterans and their families. 

  • Alvernia is recognized as Yellow Ribbon Select School by MilitarySupportiveColleges.com for being an institution that is among the best place for any veteran, active duty service member, or anyone from their families using military educational benefits to earn a degree and for effective use of the VA’s Yellow Ribbon Program.


Community Civic Responsibility


Program Specific

Below are a list of rankings and accolodates for our academic offerings:


Addictions and Mental Health Treatment


Business

Criminal Justice


Education

  • Alvernia University has been recognized as a College of Distinction for its commitment to engaged, experiential education. Alvernia qualified for the Education field of study badge.
     
  • Alvernia was listed by Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, as a part of their 2021 Master’s in Gifted and Talented Education Degree Programs. Out of the 192 schools evaluated, only 38 made the list, Alvernia found itself ranked as  #28 for Best Online Master of Special Education Program in the Northeast. Their unique scoring system reviews program courses, cost, reputation and flexibility. Their methodology also uses an algorithm that collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to compare programs more effectively.


Forensic Science

  • University HQ, an industry-leading, independent educational organization, which compiles data for students pursuing higher education, ranks Alvernia University’s Forensic Science Program in the Top 100 Most Affordable Forensic Science Colleges of 2021. Alvernia received this ranking based on cost, location, accreditation, graduate requirements, and instruction methods. As the criminal justice system continues to become more sophisticated, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)  expects significant growth in this sector. Alvernia’s Forensic Science majors develop the skills and knowledge necessary to work in a modern crime lab. 


Health Science

  • Alvernia was listed by Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, as a part of their Alvernia ranked in the top 45 Online Bachelor of Health Science Degrees after assessing more 122 universities and colleges, and comparing 327 educational programs. Their unique scoring system reviews program courses, cost, reputation and flexibility. Their methodology also uses an algorithm that collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to compare programs more effectively. Alvernia was ranked #37. 
     
  • College Factual ranked Alvernia in the top percentile of four categories in 2020-2021. This included the Most Focused Health Science award and Most Popular Health Science award.

Nursing

  • U.S. News and World Report Nursing Program Rankings: Alvernia climbed 76 spots in the report’s Nursing program rankings in comparison to last year, settling in at 356 out of 681 institutions for the quality of the nursing program. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs rankings are determined by the average of scores received from surveys of top academics and officials at nursing schools or departments. 
  • Alvernia University has been recognized as a College of Distinction for its commitment to engaged, experiential education. Alvernia qualified for the Nursing field of study badge.

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