Earlier this year, Niche — the most utilized college search website in America — released its 2025 college rankings in which Union University placed third in the “Best Christian Colleges in America” category based on the university’s overall grade of “A-” as determined by the site’s complex grading system.
Union was also ranked second in “Best Colleges in Tennessee,” sixth in “Best Dorms in America” and placed in the top 50 colleges nationwide for its nursing, physical therapy, religious studies and public policy programs. These rankings have improved dramatically from 2024, when Union was ranked 10th in “Best Christian Colleges in America” along with lower placements in the other categories.
“It’s super exciting this year to have our rankings go up because the college search process is so overwhelming for students, so they use a lot of online tools,” Amanda Chenault, director of campus events and undergraduate admissions, said. “So being able to use Niche is great because you can look and easily see what Union is good at.”
Niche determines what colleges like Union are good at by using a complex algorithm that analyzes data from the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. By receiving data solely from these vetted federal systems, the site hopes to be as transparent and accurate as possible when grading universities. Niche analyzes the quality of each academic program and each aspect that makes a college “the best.” The overall grade that each college receives is based on combining all of those aspects, including academics, campus life, athletics, diversity, safety and a variety of other factors.
“These rankings show that people outside of Union can and will see the excellent work done by the members of our academic community,” Jacob Shatzer, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said. “If Christ is who the Bible says he is, if we center our work on him and if we pursue excellence in a way that is future-directed while still being people-focused, people will take note of that.”
While Shatzer was happy to hear the high rankings Union received, he was careful not to put too much stock in them.
“I think these rankings can notice and acknowledge true things. I don’t think we can truly characterize Union at all without centering that characterization on Jesus Christ,” Shatzer said. “That’s more than just having a category called ‘Christian college.’ It’s about lordship.”
According to Shatzer, though this secular ranking system cannot truly characterize Union’s values, it is still useful for bringing prospective students to campus.
“I hope [these rankings] mean they’ll come to campus where they’ll be able to see and experience far more than a ranking can provide,” Shatzer said.
To both Shatzer and Chenault, getting students on campus is the key, and Niche helps them do that. Chenault has heard directly from prospective students about how much they use Niche when deciding which colleges to visit. By visiting Union, Chenault hopes those students will see and appreciate the Christ-centered community that a secular ranking system could never accurately portray.
“Being at the top of the list helps students know we exist so they come and visit,” Chenault said. “And ultimately where you go to school is where God’s calling you to go, but you don’t know that until you visit. You shouldn’t base your whole college decision on Niche.com.”
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