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Meredith Mason 

Bentley University is ranked  #1 in several “Best Colleges by Major/Field of Study” rankings by College Factual, an online portal designed to assist students in a selecting a college. The outcomes-driven ranking is based on factors including school quality and alumni salary information.

College Factual places Bentley in the follow categories:

Top majors

Top fields of study


In addition, Bentley ranked #76 of 1,387 schools in College Factual’s “Best Colleges” ranking.

College Factual uses data from IPEDS, the data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics, and Payscale, the online salary, benefits and compensation information company, to create its rankings.

Five factors are considered in the methodology for determining Best Colleges by Major/Field of Study.

They include:

  • Graduate Earnings: College Factual looks at both early career earnings and mid-career earnings of alumni.  Because recent college graduates usually have very limited work experience, College Factual believes early career earnings often reflect the employer’s perception of the university and how well prepared graduates are for the workforce. Student’s mid-career earnings can reflect how well the university prepared them for the working world, allowing them to build steam in their career, as well as giving them a solid alumni base to make connections with.
     
  • Percent of graduates in that major relative to the school as a whole: This is a measure of how many students choose that major in the college as a whole. Identifying more popular majors or departments in quality schools show where more of that school’s resources live.
     
  • Related majors (“mPower Index): Is the major at the school well-established with similar majors surrounding it to make the overall program stronger? College Factual asserts students will have a better experience studying their chosen major at a school with lots of supporting programs where they can take related classes, meet like-minded students and take advantage of a diverse set of professors and teachers.
     
  • Accreditation: College Factual believes that third party accreditation for a program or major reflects positively for the dedication of a university to the program or major.
     
  • Overall School Quality: This factor is based on schools’ ranking in College Factual’s Best College’s ranking order.

College Factual’s full rankings and methodology explanations are featured on collegefactual.com