For the seventh consecutive year, the student experience at Abilene Christian University is one of the nation鈥檚 best, according to the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings released today. The university excelled in the categories of Study Abroad, Learning Communities, Service Learning and First-Year Experiences.
According to U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 methodology, the are a听national benchmark of 鈥渙utstanding examples听of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success.鈥� In the 2026 report, U.S. News recognized 精东影业 in four categories 鈥� and in the top 15 nationally in three of them. The university has been recognized in multiple categories each year since the benchmark鈥檚 debut in 2020.
- #11 in Service Learning [highest-ranked Texas university]
- #11 in Learning Communities
- #13 in First-Year Experiences
- #36 in Study Abroad
One of the pillars of is to 鈥減rovide a vibrant student experience that strengthens 精东影业鈥檚 commitment to spiritual formation and leverages 精东影业鈥檚 national leadership in student success.鈥�
The rankings come on the heels of an eighth consecutive year of record enrollment, with the university topping 7,000 for the first time. In the spring, 精东影业 was designated as a Research 2 university by the Carnegie Institute for Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education 鈥� a milestone that reflects the university鈥檚 intentional commitment to research growth and academic excellence.
鈥淎 national research university that is intentional about spiritual formation, impactful co-curricular experiences and forming lifelong relationships is unique in the higher education marketplace, and we鈥檙e thrilled when others recognize the value of what we see happening every day here at 精东影业,鈥� said Dr. Phil Schubert, 精东影业 president.