History of Excellence

The learning environment at Benedictine University is strengthened by success, not size. Renowned faculty members know students by name and care as much about each student's progress as they do about their own research. These personal relationships have produced superb results. Benedictine graduates are accepted into some of the most prestigious graduate programs in the country. Benedictine University has a legacy of strong educational performance and enjoys an excellent reputation for academic programs.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have recognized Benedictine University as "one of the most productive" institutions in the country for the rate that its graduates go on to earn doctoral degrees.
• An NEH studies ranked Benedictine University first in Illinois and 29th (top three percent) nationally for the percentage of its graduates who earned doctoral degrees in all fields of study. Benedictine is ranked fifth nationally for the number of students who earned doctorates in physics and astronomy and 11th in chemistry.
• The University received national recognition from the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the National Science Foundation (NSF)" institutions in the country for the rate that its graduates go on to earn doctoral degrees.
• Benedictine enjoys a longer continuous stream of funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute than any other predominately undergraduate institution in Illinois.
• The University has a consistently high medical/professional school acceptance rate and Money Magazine has ranked Benedictine University among the top 10 universities in the nation for the percentage of its graduates entering medical schools.
• Approximately 75 percent of the students recommended by the University are accepted to professional health science graduate programs.
• The University partners with Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Morton Arboretum, Brookfield Zoo, and Shedd Aquarium for access to their facilities.
• The liberal arts curriculum places the University among some of the finest small private schools in the nation (Peterson's Guide to Higher Education in the United States).
• The Center for Educational Policy Research (CEPR) at the University of Oregon recognized Benedictine University for its exemplary courses in chemistry.
• Benedictine University's Ph.D. program in Organization Development is one of the top-rated graduate OD programs internationally and is the third-largest behaviorally-oriented management program in the nation.

Benedictine University has a track record of success that includes developing state-of-the-art radiation detectors, creating materials used in space exploration, developing cutting edge business practices and winning prestigious grants from some of the country's most important science foundations.

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