Rankings and Awards
Simmons University’s rich tradition of excellence in higher education spans 125 years — and continues to this day. The University continues to be recognized for delivering renowned professional and academic programs that cultivate leadership and career readiness in students. Simmons regularly lands on lists for best national universities and colleges, best value schools, nursing and psychology programs, top performers on social mobility, and more.
Recent Rankings
Best Colleges in the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal ranked Simmons in the 2025 list of the Best Colleges in the U.S.
#33
Best Value Schools
U.S. News & World Report ranked Simmons #33 for Best Value Schools, a distinction that takes into account a school's academic quality and and the net cost of attendance.
Best 390 Colleges
The Princeton Review ranked Simmons among the 390 Best Colleges for 2025.
University Rankings and Awards News
Contextualizing Simmons’ Top Performance in Social Mobility
As recent college rankings suggest, Simmons University is a catalyst for social mobility, especially for first-generation students and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Director of Undergraduate Advising Receives Award from National Academic Advising Association
“In college, I was one of those people who was involved in everything, and I liked helping everybody. . . . So when I realized that I could support students for a living, I was very excited,” recalls Cindy Firestein...
Simmons Named a Top 100 Women-Led Business in Massachusetts
The Women’s Edge, a nonprofit organization that supports female business leaders, together with its partner The Boston Globe, has announced that Simmons University was named one of the 24th annual Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts.
Simmons Recognized for Excellence in Student Voter Registration and Turnout
ALL IN Awards Day honored Simmons for excellence in nonpartisan student voter engagement and campus turnout in the 2022 Midterm Elections. Specifically, Simmons received the award for 2022 Boston Votes Highest Voting Rate: Four-Year Institution. Members of the Simmons community received in-person recognition at the Boston and Massachusetts Campus Voting Summit, held at Harvard University.
Simmons School of Library and Information Science Receives National Grant for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Education
Simmons School of Library and Information Science Dean Sanda Erdelez and Professor and Associate Dean Laura Saunders have been awarded a three-year Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant of $249,510 to “implement a nationwide system to develop, audit, and share library and information science courses with an equity, diversity, and inclusion focus.”
Simmons Named Among The Princeton Review’s Best Colleges 2025
The Princeton Review recently revealed The Best 390 Colleges: 2025 Edition. The overall list, which is unranked, is determined by student surveys that address campus life, academics, administration, personal experience, etc. Simmons University, as well as 25 other Massachusetts institutions, are recognized among the nation’s best colleges.
Simmons Named Among Wall Street Journal’s Best Colleges in the U.S.
The WSJ rankings take into account student experience, graduation rates, career-preparedness, starting salaries post-graduation, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Simmons Awarded Prestigious Carnegie Designation for Leadership for Public Purpose
This designation recognizes our institutional commitment to the pursuit of leadership and the collective public good. Most exciting, this honor is a national recognition of the unique brand of leadership we have developed and advanced at Simmons – a group of everyday leaders committed to doing well and doing good.
About Simmons
Simmons University is a nationally recognized private university located in the heart of Boston.
Student Awards in the News
Simmons Library and Information Science Student and Indigenous Archives Enthusiast Receives Mosaic Scholarship
Graduate student Sage Loyema Innerarity ‘25MS, a citizen of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California, is the 2024 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists.
Simmons Students Receive American Library Association Spectrum Scholarship
Five students in Simmons School of Library and Information Science were selected among the American Library Association’s 2024-2025 Spectrum Scholars.
SLIS Student and Alumni Win Law Library Internship
School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) alum Mary Hogan l’85MS and SLIS student Hannah Gershone have been selected for the Summer 2024 Creative Digital Projects Internship at the Law Library of Congress.
SLIS Student Receives Scholarship from the Society of American Archivists
Sage Loyema Innerarity ’25MS is the 2024 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship, offered by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and awarded to promising students in the Archives field who demonstrate a commitment to advancing diversity within the profession.
Incoming Simmons Undergrad Selected for Journalism Initiative
Incoming Simmons student Tristie-Mattea Ortiz ’28 was accepted into the Youth Arts Journalism Initiative Class of 2024, a project sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, Connecticut.
STEM Student Receives Research Scholarship from American Chemical Society
Biochemistry major and Literature and Writing minor Reagan Cleversey ’26 received the competitive James Flack Norris / Theodore William Richards Summer Research Scholarship from the American Chemical Society. She spoke with us about her passion for medicinal chemistry and the importance of mentorship.
School of Nursing Students Train to Work with Children with Developmental Disorders
Simmons School of Nursing students Rachel Takes ’24MSN and Elizabeth Strager ’19 ’21MSN, FNP- C, ’25DNP were recruited into the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (LEND Boston) at Boston Children's Hospital’s Institute for Community Inclusion.
Chemistry/Physics Student Accepted into Research Experience at UPenn
Annabelle Hannah ’25, a double-major in Chemistry and Physics, was accepted into the 2024 summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). The 10-week program is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
Faculty Awards in the News
Professor Visits University of Johannesburg as Fulbright Specialist
Professor Johnnie Hamilton-Mason received a Fulbright Specialist Award this year. Recipients of the Fulbright Specialist awards are "selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad."
2024 Simmons Faculty Awards Celebrates Stellar Researchers and Educators
Simmons faculty from various disciplines received awards in undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, service, and a commitment to DEI at the 2024 Faculty Awards.
Gerontological Society of America Selects School of Social Work Chair as Editor-in-Chief
The GSA — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has named Michelle Putnam, Professor and Jennifer Eckert ’08 Chair of Simmons’ School of Social Work, as the next editor-in-chief of the journal Innovation in Aging.
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National Science Foundation Grant Aims to Retain STEM Students
Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Senior Associate Director for Teaching and Learning in the Center for Faculty Excellence, was recently awarded a four-year $496K grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of the funded project is to tackle high attrition rates in biology education at the undergraduate level by improving assessment and feedback practices.
SLIS Professor Wins LIS Education Award
Professor and Associate Dean of SLIS Laura Saunders has been selected the 2024 Winner of the Award for Professional Contribution to Library and Information Science Education granted annually by the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE).
SLIS Professor to Receive Information Science and Technology Service Award
The Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) recently announced that Simmons Library and Information Science Professor Naresh Agarwal is the recipient of the 2024 Watson Davis Award for Service. This award “recognizes an individual member of the Association who...
Children’s Literature Professor Helps Select Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners
The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards “recognize and reward excellence in literature for children and young adults.” As the School Library Journal reported, Professor and Graduate Program Director of Children’s Literature Cathryn Mercier chaired a group of judges who determined the 2024 awardees.
Nutrition Professor Receives Award from Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation
Recognizing the professional achievements of Assistant Professor of Nutrition Dr. Jacqueline Beatty, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation honored her with the 2024 Margene Wagstaff Award for Innovation in Dietetics Education.