Southwest Baptist University made strong gains in the most recent Niche.com rankings
of colleges and universities, continuing the university’s momentum of recent years
of enrollment gains and program expansion.
SBU rose 327 spots in the national rankings and 11 spots in the rankings of Missouri colleges and universities.
The biggest gains were in the following areas:
- Academics – National percentile improved 14 percent. This considers factors such as acceptance rate, faculty grade, graduation rate, and student surveys.
- Professors – Improved to No. 11 out of 36 colleges and universities in Missouri. The ranking combines factors such as student-to-faculty ratio, student surveys of faculty, and the percent of faculty who are full-time vs. Adjunct.
- Overall Campus – Improved to No. 6 out of 36 colleges and universities in Missouri, and the top quarter of campuses in the country. This is determined using student surveys on campus quality, food, housing, as well as safety data for Bolivar and the surrounding area.
In addition to gains, SBU maintained high rankings in two categories:
- Campus Housing – Ranked No. 6 for dorms in Missouri and No. 204 nationally.
- Campus Safety – Ranked No. 4 in Missouri and No. 155 nationally.
SBU is in its second year of partnering with Niche.com to offer direct admissions, through which prospective students can create a Niche.com profile and see scholarship offers they can accept if they meet SBU’s admissions requirements.
Click here to view SBU’s profile on Niche.com. Students can create a profile from the college page and begin seeing eligible direct admissions offers.
Published September 1, 2026