Magazine ranks Gonzaga, Whitworth high in West region

Out of 126 similar schools in the West, Gonzaga University ranked No. 3 for the third consecutive year in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of the nation’s higher-education institutions, and Whitworth University ranked sixth.

The rankings put institutions into four categories based on the programs they offer: national universities, liberal arts colleges, master’s universities and baccalaureate universities. The latter two are divided into four geographical regions.

Gonzaga and several other area schools are master’s universities, meaning they include a range of undergraduate and master’s programs, but few if any doctoral programs.

Of the 126 master’s universities in the West, Gonzaga came in behind Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and Santa Clara University in California. Whitworth University tied for sixth, with Seattle University.

With Pacific Lutheran University ranked 12th and Seattle Pacific University ranked 14th, institutions in Washington state account for a third of the top 15 schools in the 15-state West region.

Eastern Washington University, also categorized as a master’s university, was ranked No. 48.

In the larger category of national universities, Washington State University was ranked No. 116 of 262, and eighth among Pac-10 Conference schools. The University of Washington came in No. 41 overall.

Roughly the top half of each category is ranked, with the remaining schools placed in the third or fourth tier.

The University of Idaho is ranked in the third tier for national universities.

Whitman College in Walla Walla ranked 37th of 265 liberal arts colleges nationwide.

To generate the rankings, 15 categories of data are collected from each school and weighted for the overall score, according to the U.S. News and World Report Web site. The ranking formula is altered each year.