Academic Excellence

JBU's Rankings & Distinctions

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”

-Aristotle

Accolades

1

JBU is Arkansas' Top Ranked University

JBU is Arkansas’ top-ranked regional university according to the U.S News and World Report 2018 “Best Regional Universities Rankings” report. JBU has been the top-ranked Arkansas school in its cohort for three years in row.

2

Wall Street Journal Ranked

Of the 986 colleges the WSJ ranked, JBU was the #2 Arkansas school, 78th in the South and in the top third overall. Of the ranked schools in the CCCU, JBU was #9.

3

Money Magazine 'Best Investment'

JBU was Money Magazine's top Arkansas choice after analyzing graduation rates, tuition, family borrowing and alumni earnings.

4

Impressive Freshmen Credentials

JBU’s incoming freshman class of the 2018-19 school year maintained a 3.75 average high school grade point average. The freshmen also averaged 25.6 on the ACT and held an 1234 average for the SAT.

5

Outstanding Faculty

Over 80 percent of JBU’s full-time faculty hold a Ph.D. or the appropriate terminal degree for their field. JBU Faculty have received their degrees from, Oxford University, Princeton University, Talbot School of Theology, Harvard University, Loyola University and more.

6

Nationally Recognized Honors Students

Every year, JBU honors students have the opportunity to present their research at recognized research conferences across the country. In the 2014-15 school year alone, 50 students presented their work regionally and 15 nationally.

7

High Graduation Rate

JBU has one of the highest graduation rates among colleges and universities in the state of Arkansas, with 73.3 percent of students who enter the university graduating within six years.

JBU students are recognized around the world for their academic excellence while studying at JBU and after graduation. We are pleased to share just a few examples of the long heritage of academic excellence at JBU.

Students Awarded for Excellence

Construction Management Students Place at Regional Competition

Students Receive $25,000 Grant to Implement Entrepreneurial Program in El Salvador

JBU Students Win NASA Innovation Award with Multi-Robot System

On May 24, 2017, Enactus JBU out-perfromed over 200 other universities and won the 2017 Enactus National Championship. The champion team moved on to compete internationally at the Enactus World Cup in London. The club boasts over 50 members from 10 countries and allows JBU students to create a better world through entrepreneurship.

Construction management students represented JBU by winning second place in the commercial building category at the Associated Schools of Construction Region 5 competition.

The staff of JBU's student newspaper, The Threefold Advocate, received seven awards in writing, editing, design and photography from the Arkansas College Media Association for the 2017-2018 school year.

Alumni Carlos Lopez, a Walton International Scholar, and his team of six friends received a $25,000 scholarship from the U.S. Department of State's Alumni Engagement Innovation fund in 2016. These funds allowed them to establish their entrepreneurial program Jóvenes Pioneros (Pioneer Youth) in Lopez's home country, El Salvador. The program serves to bridge the gap between El Salvador's public education curriculum and the skills needed for the workplace.

JBU's robotic team, the Eaglenauts, went to the NASA's sixth annual Robotic Mining Competition (RMC) at The Kennedy Space Center as one of the smallest teams of the 46 competing universities, but left as the second most decorated team. The five-member team won the Judges’ Innovation Award for the most creativity and placed third in both the “Systems Engineering Paper” category and in the “Presentation and Demonstration” category.

John Brown University’s Natural State Bedding business team took second in the undergraduate division at the 2016 Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Governor’s Cup Business Plan Competition. JBU’s Natural State Bedding team pitched a business plan for EcoAvia, an organic, more sustainable chicken house bedding.