2025 College Rankings

American University was founded to promote public service, and thanks in part to its location in Washington, D.C., many of its graduates pursue careers in government. But the university has strayed from the lofty ideals that once animated its mission, shifting its focus toward the more superficial aims of contemporary activism.

The administration embraces many of the worst trends in higher education. The school has signed numerous environmental pledges and encourages the use of preferred pronouns in official communications. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives play a role, though not as aggressively as at some peer institutions: there is just over one DEI staffer per 1,000 undergraduates, and roughly 20 percent of faculty job postings require a diversity statement.

American University has a poor record on free speech. Just 21 percent of students told the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) that it is “extremely” or “very” clear that the school protects free expression. The university maintains a bias-response system, designed to monitor and flag opinions that some may find offensive. FIRE gives the school a “yellow” speech code rating, indicating that its policies are vague enough to be easily misused to suppress speech.

Faculty views at American University are far from ideologically balanced. When students were asked to rate their professors on a scale from 1 (“very liberal”) to 7 (“very conservative”), the average response was 2.8. The vast majority of faculty campaign donations in the 2023–24 election cycle went to liberal or Democratic causes. That said, more than 1 percent of faculty—relatively high by national standards—belong to Heterodox Academy, an organization that promotes free inquiry and viewpoint diversity on campus.

Students at American University are not ideologically diverse. For every conservative student, there are roughly five liberals. The school ranks among the worst in our survey for self-censorship: 63 percent of students told FIRE that they censor themselves at least once a month.

Still, students are relatively tolerant of controversial campus speakers. According to FIRE, 70 percent say that it’s “rarely” or “never” acceptable to shout down a speaker, and 57 percent say that it’s “never” acceptable to block others from attending. Virtually no students condone the use of violence in these situations, and there have been few attempted de-platformings over the past five years.

The curriculum, however, could be stronger. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gives the university a C in its What Will They Learn? ratings, which assign letter grades based on how many of seven core subjects are required in the core curriculum or general education program. While American requires DEI-themed courses to graduate, it does not mandate coursework in history or government. ACTA does highlight two bright spots: the Political Theory Institute, which hosts lectures and academic programming on the influence of political theory in public life; and the Lincoln Scholars Program—a 15-credit course sequence in political theory, philosophy, economics, and literature.

Graduates of American often see mixed outcomes. The university underperforms on both six-year graduation and retention rates relative to peers with similar SAT and Pell Grant profiles. Its graduation rate is 79 percent and its retention rate 86 percent—both more than five points below expected levels. Students also take longer than average to recoup the cost of their education: 2.6 years, compared with our 2.3-year average.