Main Quad on Emory University’s primary Druid Hills Campus, including the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the right. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons

Emory University was ranked 21st among the nation’s top universities in the “U.S. News & World Report’s” Best Colleges Rankings for 2016.

The rankings provided data on nearly 1,800 schools. Ranking indicators included “average freshman retention rate” and “student-faculty ratio.”

“Emory has received wide recognition as an international leader in global research, discovery and innovation,” Claire Sterk, Emory provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said in a press release. “We consistently rank high in a variety of national surveys that convey aspects of our identity, from the strength of our academic programs, to the quality of faculty teaching and research, to the value of an Emory undergraduate experience for students.”

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The review mentioned Emory’s highly ranked graduate programs and noted, “Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, physician and CNN chief health correspondent Sanjay Gupta and activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu have all taught at Emory.”

The private university in Druid Hills was also “ranked 16th among national universities that are the ‘best colleges for veterans,’ offering military veterans and active-duty service members ‘benefits that can help them make pursuing a college education more affordable,’ according to the school’s press release.

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Emory University Hospital as the number one hospital in Georgia and metro Atlanta.