New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has carved out a nice niche in the middle of the state.
The Socorro-based university earned this week a No. 4 national ranking for “Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions in America” on the college ranking site niche.com. Three other New Mexico universities also cracked the top 100: New Mexico State University (35), University of New Mexico (69) and Eastern New Mexico University (83).
“This kind of recognition is exciting, and it is certainly a good recruitment tool in New Mexico, especially since we are a minority-majority state,” said N.M. Tech President Stephen G. Wells, adding the potential impact the university can have goes beyond just the students. “Tech is also ranked as one of the best values in higher education in the nation, as well as one of best universities in the nation for both job placement after graduation and career earnings. Those are meaningful designations that help our graduates change their lives, and, in some cases, the lives and educational trajectories of their families, too.”
Niche, an online school research and rankings database that combines available public data and also user-provided reviews to formulate rankings, also ranked N.M. Tech the top university overall in the state.
The university also rated high in other more widely recognized collegiate ratings like U.S. News and World Report, which ranks the school No. 5 among the top public schools in the west – the highest rating for a school outside of California in the region. CNBC in the past year ranked N.M. Tech the No. 21 public university on its “The top 50 U.S. colleges that pay off the most in 2020,” a ranking that was comprised of 25 public and 25 private universities
For Fall 2019, 31.3% of N.M. Tech’s more than 1,200 students were Hispanic and more than 89% were New Mexico residents.
To qualify as a Hispanic Serving Institution, a school must first be a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and enrollment must be a minimum of 25% Hispanic. There are 18 members in New Mexico, though several are branch campus of either UNM or NMSU.
UNM this week also noted on an article posted on its website that its No. 187 national ranking by U.S. News and World Report among more than 350 “National Universities” is a 31-spot improvement over last year. UNM also ranked in the Top 100 on the U.S. News and World Report rankings for Top Performers on Social Mobility (71), Undergraduate Engineering (90) and Top Public Schools (95).
