Miami’s Honors College earns top 5 national ranking
College Transitions touts university’s unique courses, residential experience, more
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Published
Zeb Baker, left, dean of the Honors College at Miami University, works with Peren Tiemann, a Miami graduate and Honors College student. Recently, College Transitions ranked Miami in the top five of the nation's best honors programs.
Miami’s Honors College earns top 5 national ranking
•
Published
Miami University’s Honors College continues to grow – both in numbers and reputation.
College Transitions recently ranked Miami at No. 5 in its 50 Best Honors Colleges – 2026. The educational consultant group evaluated hundreds of honors programs and colleges, utilizing the factors of selectivity score, benefits score, and rigor score to compile its list of the strongest and most comprehensive honors programs in the United States.
Zeb Baker, dean of Miami’s Honors College, said the college launched five years ago with lofty ambitions.
“It’s proving the concept,” Baker said of the recent ranking. “We wanted to attract outstanding students to Miami from all over the country and the world and offer them enriching experiences that really make a difference in their overall Miami education. To have an outside observer like College Transitions say Miami is doing that at a level that makes it one of the best nationally confirms that we’re on the right track.”
Enrollment for Miami’s Honors College is just shy of 2,100. By fall 2027, Baker expects to have close to 2,400-2,500 students in the Honors College.
“Right now, one of every 10 undergraduates at Miami is an Honors College student. That is a significant percentage,” Baker said.
College Transitions pointed to Miami’s unique courses, study abroad programs, faculty mentorship, and residential experience in helping students thrive in the Honors College.
The university’s success rate of 98% for the Class of 2024 was also praised, along with alumni outcomes and graduate school opportunities.
“Miami’s Honors College continues to excel through an engaged faculty and robust network of campus partners dedicated to providing a stellar learning environment for our students,” Miami President Gregory Crawford said. “Through internships, service opportunities, study abroad, undergraduate research, and more, the Honors College prepares students to become productive and engaged citizen scholars and future leaders. We are thrilled that College Transitions has recognized the outstanding work and extraordinary students of our Honors College.”
Miami also welcomed its largest-ever incoming class of Presidential Fellows in 2025. Baker noted that, in the past three years, the university has produced the most national fellowship winners of any Ohio institution.
“When we have students coming from as far away as Azerbaijan to be a part of this program, I think that really speaks to what we’ve been able to achieve in a short time as an Honors College,” Baker said.
Baker is excited for what’s ahead for the Honors College, too. University-wide support has been a big part of the college’s ongoing success, and Baker sees that continuing as the Honors College prepares for both its immediate and long-term futures.
“It really is an all-Miami endeavor,” he said. “We’re very mission-centric. We’re aimed at trying to get students to think about how they’ll use an honors education to go out in the world and advance the common good. Everything we do is an attempt to develop them in that direction.
“Our team is taking this calendar year to strategically plan what comes in years 6-10, as well as in 10, 20, 30 years, and what the Honors College can continue to contribute to Miami.”
College Transitions recently ranked Miami at No. 5 in its 50 Best Honors Colleges – 2026. The educational consultant group evaluated hundreds of honors programs and colleges, utilizing the factors of selectivity score, benefits score, and rigor score to compile its list of the strongest and most comprehensive honors programs in the United States.
Zeb Baker, dean of Miami’s Honors College, said the college launched five years ago with lofty ambitions.
“It’s proving the concept,” Baker said of the recent ranking. “We wanted to attract outstanding students to Miami from all over the country and the world and offer them enriching experiences that really make a difference in their overall Miami education. To have an outside observer like College Transitions say Miami is doing that at a level that makes it one of the best nationally confirms that we’re on the right track.”
Enrollment for Miami’s Honors College is just shy of 2,100. By fall 2027, Baker expects to have close to 2,400-2,500 students in the Honors College.
“Right now, one of every 10 undergraduates at Miami is an Honors College student. That is a significant percentage,” Baker said.
College Transitions pointed to Miami’s unique courses, study abroad programs, faculty mentorship, and residential experience in helping students thrive in the Honors College.
The university’s success rate of 98% for the Class of 2024 was also praised, along with alumni outcomes and graduate school opportunities.
“Miami’s Honors College continues to excel through an engaged faculty and robust network of campus partners dedicated to providing a stellar learning environment for our students,” Miami President Gregory Crawford said. “Through internships, service opportunities, study abroad, undergraduate research, and more, the Honors College prepares students to become productive and engaged citizen scholars and future leaders. We are thrilled that College Transitions has recognized the outstanding work and extraordinary students of our Honors College.”
Miami also welcomed its largest-ever incoming class of Presidential Fellows in 2025. Baker noted that, in the past three years, the university has produced the most national fellowship winners of any Ohio institution.
“When we have students coming from as far away as Azerbaijan to be a part of this program, I think that really speaks to what we’ve been able to achieve in a short time as an Honors College,” Baker said.
Baker is excited for what’s ahead for the Honors College, too. University-wide support has been a big part of the college’s ongoing success, and Baker sees that continuing as the Honors College prepares for both its immediate and long-term futures.
“It really is an all-Miami endeavor,” he said. “We’re very mission-centric. We’re aimed at trying to get students to think about how they’ll use an honors education to go out in the world and advance the common good. Everything we do is an attempt to develop them in that direction.
“Our team is taking this calendar year to strategically plan what comes in years 6-10, as well as in 10, 20, 30 years, and what the Honors College can continue to contribute to Miami.”
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the Honors College? Visit the website for more information.
