St. Mary's University has jumped three notches in the latest ranking of best colleges and universities in the nation.
                 
U-S News and World Report now ranks St. Mary's number 174 out of more than 15-hundred schools.

St. Mary's President, Brother William Mann, said, in a press release, the university is elated  to be nationally recognized for its excellent educational experience.

The magazine placed SMU in the first tier of the "National Universities" category which includes schools that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors, as well as master's and doctoral degrees.
  
This is the sixth year St. Mary's is ranked in this category.