DePaul Also Ranked Among Top 100 in Master's Degrees Conferred on Hispanics

DePaul University has been ranked among the top 100 institutions of higher education nationally to award bachelor degrees in business, education, and liberal arts to Hispanics, according to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine. DePaul also was listed among the top 100 to confer master's degrees on Hispanics. The national, biweekly magazine published the rankings in its April 24 issue, "The Best Colleges for Hispanics."

DePaul was ranked:

• 37th in business and management bachelor's degrees conferred on Hispanics, with 62 awarded in 1996

• 40th in liberal arts and sciences bachelor's degrees conferred on Hispanics, with 14 awarded in 1996

• 49th in education bachelor's degrees conferred on Hispanics, with 14 awarded in 1996

• 91st in master's degrees conferred on Hispanics, with 35 conferred in 1996

The 1996 graduation statistics, obtained by the magazine from the U.S. Department of Education, are the most recent national graduation figures available.

"The rankings that appear in Hispanic Outlook reflect DePaul's continuing commitment to serving a diverse student body that is representative of the larger society which we serve," said Richard J. Meister, executive vice president for academic affairs at DePaul. "They also give evidence that this commitment to diversity contributes significantly to our goal of enhancing academic quality."

DePaul's position in the lists is notable because many of the top-ranked colleges and universities are located in southern and western states with higher Hispanic populations than Illinois.

According to The Illinois Board of Higher Education report issued in March, DePaul has the highest Hispanic and African-American enrollment of any private school in the state, with 1,805 African-Americans and 1,296 Hispanics among the university's 17,000 students.

DePaul has been ranked by several other magazines and education guides this year:

• DePaul University was one of only seven schools honored by TIME magazine and The Princeton Review for making access to education a top priority. The honor was published in the 1998 edition of "The Best College for You." The only Illinois university cited, DePaul was recognized for its strong commitment to the Chicago metropolitan area and its success in recruiting a diverse student body and faculty. See the release.

• For the last four years, the part-time MBA program in DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business has been ranked among the top 10 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of part-time graduate business school programs. DePaul tied for seventh nationally in 1998, up from eighth place last year. See the release.

• DePaul's entrepreneurship program has been chosen one of the top 25 business school programs for entrepreneurs by Success magazine for four consecutive years. See the release.