Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) was named in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges List for another consecutive year. EKU ranked in the following categories: National Universities, Top Public Schools, Top Performers in Social Mobility and Nursing.
EKU moved up from last year’s ranking in the National Universities and Top Public Schools lists. For the second year in a row, EKU came in first among Kentucky’s public universities for Top Performers on Social Mobility.
“Being recognized once again in the U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges list is a testament to our commitment to academic excellence, student success, and the dedication of our faculty and staff,” said EKU President David McFaddin. “As the Commonwealth’s School of Opportunity, it reaffirms our role in shaping future leaders and underscores the impact we have in the lives of our students and the communities we serve.”
According to U.S. News and World Report, “Altogether, the rankings are a guide for discovering the best fit schools predicated on academics and personal considerations.” Nearly 1,500 four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions were evaluated and compared on weighted factors, such as graduation rates, graduation rate performance and peer assessment. Institutions ranked for social mobility were evaluated based on their success in “enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants.”
Of EKU’s Spring 2024 graduating class, 40% were Pell recipients or Pell eligible. Furthermore, nearly 40% are first-generation college graduates. In an effort to lessen the barriers to higher education, EKU’s innovative BookSmart program provides free textbooks to all degree-seeking students.
EKU boasts the highest Kentucky employment rate one year after graduation among all the state’s public institutions. Aligning academic program offerings with state workforce needs, EKU provides quality educational opportunities in fields such as manufacturing engineering, aviation, teacher education, healthcare, business and many others.
This year, EKU announced the initiation of a feasibility study to analyze the need for a public College of Osteopathic Medicine in the Commonwealth. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, only 47.7% of Kentucky’s need for primary care health professionals is met. Nearly all of the state's 120 counties contain facilities designated as health professional shortage areas for primary care. EKU anticipates that by offering a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree, the number of shortage areas throughout the Commonwealth may be reduced.
EKU has consistently been recognized among U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges for several years. The U.S. News and World Report 2025 Best Colleges rankings add to a growing list of national accolades for EKU, including Best Colleges in the U.S. in the WSJ College Pulse Ranking 2025, Best Bang for the Buck Colleges by Washington Monthly, and No. 2 nationally in Military Friendly® Schools and Military Friendly® Spouse Schools.
During a period of national enrollment decline, EKU experienced a 24% growth in freshman enrollment from 2020-24. Additionally, EKU welcomed the largest freshman class in the university’s history this fall with 2,985 freshmen on the first day of classes.