Rollins

Rollins Ranked No. 1 for Best Undergraduate Teaching Programs

September 09, 2019

By Luke Woodling ’17MBA

Biology professor Fiona Harper and Damian Clarke ’19 conduct research on sea stars in a Rollins lab.
Rollins’ Student-Faculty Collaborative Scholarship Program has funded original research partnerships for over 20 years.Photo by Scott Cook.

U.S. News & World Report has recognized Rollins for its uncommon commitment to teaching undergraduate students.


U.S. News & World Report has ranked Rollins No. 1 for best undergraduate teaching programs among regional universities in the South in its 2020 rankings of the nation’s best colleges.

Rollins was ranked No. 1 among the 120 colleges and universities in its category, which is composed of schools that provide a full range of undergraduate and master’s-level programs.

U.S. News & World Report’s best undergraduate teaching rankings focus on schools that have faculty with an unusually strong commitment to teaching undergraduate students. As a result, Rollins claiming the category’s top spot should come as little surprise. After all, Rollins is the epicenter of engaged learning.

Thanks to our 11:1 student-faculty ratio and average class size of just 17, Rollins students receive individualized attention inside and outside the classroom, helping them develop their personal and professional passions and achieve their career and life goals.

SJ Renfroe ’18 and one of her mentors, anthropology professor Rachel Newcomb.
“Being on a first-name basis really allows for approachability and lets the students learn so much more deeply,” says SJ Renfroe ’18, pictured here with one of her mentors, anthropology professor Rachel Newcomb.Photo by Scott Cook.

“I was able to form invaluable one-on-one relationships with my professors,” says SJ Renfroe ’18, an anthropology major who is now a graduate student at Columbia University. “The faculty at Rollins are so smart and kind; they don’t create a wall but instead create a giant space for learning.”

At Rollins, students forge lifelong relationships with our expert professors through our intimate, discussion-based courses and one-on-one advising. That student-faculty bond is strengthened while working side by side on everything from original collaborative research to life-changing service projects and globetrotting field studies.

Math professor Mark Anderson and Arden Baxter ’18.
Math professor Mark Anderson and Arden Baxter ’18. Photo by Scott Cook.

“Rollins professors really care and want to make lifelong relationships,” says Arden Baxter, a math and computer science major who is now a PhD candidate at Georgia Tech. “I know that the professors I’m close with will always be a resource for me.”

At Rollins, our expert professors are a lot of things. They are distinguished researchers and esteemed scholars. They are science fiction aficionados and medieval masters. First and foremost, though, our professors are teachers. Inventive, inspiring teachers dedicated to helping every student unlock their unique ability to make the world brighter, smarter, and more open to possibility.

In addition to recognizing the College for its strong commitment to undergraduate teaching, U.S. News & World Report ranked Rollins the No. 1 university in the South. Rollins was also named a best value school and was recognized as one of the South’s most innovative institutions.


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