-
About
Fidelity & ExcellenceThomas Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
-
A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the College’s curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
-
A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of Thomas Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
-
Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
-
Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC — something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
-
Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the College’s academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Guide Names Thomas Aquinas No. 2 among Top Christian Colleges
As usual for this time of year, Thomas Aquinas College has appeared in numerous college guides that measure such disparate criteria as academic quality, financial value, and contribution to the public good. Now another guide has released its annual assessment, with its own, unique focus: the quality — in terms of reputation, student satisfaction, and academics — of “distinctively Christian” schools, both Protestant and Catholic. Nearing the top of the list of some 204 institutions across the United States is Thomas Aquinas College, at No. 2.
Faith on View’s Top Christian Colleges 2018 rankings, in the words of author Rondall Reynoso, “look at a broad cross-section of institutions” that “have Christianity as their core and are distinctively Christian.” Thomas Aquinas College ranks second on the list, just behind the University of Notre Dame and ahead of Boston College. It is the only one of the numerous Catholic colleges founded since its own establishment in 1971 to make the Top 10.
The College also ranks No. 1 for student success and satisfaction, No. 1 among schools in California and throughout the West, and No. 1 among schools with 750 or fewer students. It likewise garnered rankings of No. 2 nationwide for faculty resources and No. 3 for best value.
Faith on View’s rankings include schools identified as distinctively Christian by the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, and the Cardinal Newman Society. It draws from a wide range of publicly available statistics to measure each school’s reputation, desirability, value, and teaching, running the data through its own ratings formula to determine its rankings.
Acknowledging that Faith on View’s rankings do not attempt to “quantify the spiritual commitment or health of an institution,” Mr. Reynoso notes that they do, however, use “18 measures to attempt to quantify the ineffable concept of educational quality.” Similarly, last spring College Consensus ranked Thomas Aquinas among the top 10 on its list of “Best Catholic Colleges of 2018.” And among guides that do attempt to gauge spiritual vitality, the Cardinal Newman Society regularly includes the College on its list of faithfully Catholic institutions, as does the National Catholic Register.