BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Adding to a growing list of national accolades, Illinois Wesleyan University has been recognized as the No. 2 Most Innovative College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report.
This distinction, which is a new ranking category with U.S. News, is determined by peer nominations from top college officials, including presidents, provosts and admissions deans. Survey participants identified institutions that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities.
Illinois Wesleyan is paving the way for innovative education in the Midwest, with The Petrick Idea Center taking shape on campus and recent curricular updates including majors in Physical Education and Nutrition and a concentration in Quantum Science and Technology.
U.S. News also ranked IWU in the following top-10 categories:
- No. 2 Regional College in the Midwest
- No. 4 for Undergraduate Teaching at Colleges in the Midwest
- No. 5 Best Value for Colleges in the Midwest
- No. 8 in Social Mobility for Colleges in the Midwest
These additional ranking organizations have recognized Illinois Wesleyan among the best colleges in the region and nation:
The Princeton Review
Illinois Wesleyan was included in The Princeton Review’s unranked list of The Best 391 Colleges of 2026, recognized for academic offerings and based on surveys of college students who report on their campus experience. IWU has been included in The Princeton Review’s annual college guide every year since the list’s inception in 1989. Read more.
Money
According to Money, Illinois Wesleyan is among the Best Colleges in America 2025 out of more than 700 institutions named the country’s top values in higher education. Money analyzed dozens of data points including graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid and alumni salaries to rate colleges where tuition dollars are likely to pay off.
Niche
IWU has been deemed the No. 3 Best Small College in Illinois and the No. 8 Best College overall in the state by Niche, using metrics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews from students and alumni.
College Raptor
The University was also ranked #5 Best College in Illinois by College Raptor, which bases scores on graduation rates, campus diversity, endowment per student and other data as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Applications for the fall semester of 2026 are now open, with no application fee and optional requirement to submit standardized test scores. Learn more by visiting IWU.edu/apply.