The Top 30 American Colleges With The Most Innovative Teaching Approaches: These Colleges Do Things Differently

This college polarizes the methodology lists. Both Reuters and Forbes rave about it. Reuters even considers the college to be the seventh most innovative college worldwide. Forbes praises the college's encouragement of women and ability to make students consider their long-term careers. However, the only other list to feature it is US News, which names the college the joint 37th most innovative national university in America. The University of Washington encourages all of its students to share ideas, "by providing the space and opportunity from all backgrounds - the humanities and the sciences, the poetic and the pragmatics - to connect, imagine and discover."

Mashable and College Xpress cite vastly different departments at New York University as evidence of innovation. Mashable is impressed with the college's Data Journalism and Investigative Reporting course. This course is still running in the present day and teaches students indispensable research and data extraction skills that give them an edge in the news reporting world. College Xpress, on the other hand, notes that NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized study is as a premier destination for students that want to learn in a unique way. This school allows students to create their own program which combines a range of specialisms to make a study experience completely catered to an individual. Students embarking on this have to have two advisers throughout their study, a faculty adviser and a class adviser, to ensure they succeed. NYU is also US News's joint 37th most innovative college.

North Carolina State University belongs to the University of North Carolina System. Therefore, Reuters ranks this, and the other colleges in the System, as the 35th most innovative university in the world. US News has a very similar estimation of North Carolina State University as a single college, placing it at 37th in its most innovative national universities list. Lastly, Forbes praises the college for the way it makes students create product solutions for real-world companies. This product development initiative is completely in line with the college's focus on high-impact education. This philosophy means that most of the students engage with cooperative education, entrepreneurship coaching, and study abroad programs.

Ranking at 72nd on Reuters and 32nd on US News's innovation lists is Case Western Reserve University. Forbes also features the college's sustainable value and social entrepreneurship institute on its unnumbered list. But in the years since the Forbes list was published, the college has created even more facilities that encourage, "students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community - to tinker and creatively invent." The most successful of these spaces is called Think[box], and for two years running, students have stated that it is the best facility on campus in college surveys.

This college gets two first-place methodology rankings. But apart from Business Insider and US News, it does not appear on any other lists. Arizona State University, Tempe itself puts its success in innovation down to the way that students are able to create their own graduation timeframe. This is supported through the college eAdvisor system, which helps students see their progress and envision optimum graduation times. On top of this, students are able to gain real-world experience throughout their years of study.

College Xpress notes that each year of Bard College's experience has a different focus. For example, intellectual exploration is the emphasis of the first year. US News is more taken with the college's campus, noting that its 1,000 acre home resembles a sprawling idyllic village and names it the fourth most innovative liberal arts college in America. And the innovation at Bard College shines through into every event that it hosts. For instance, many colleges hold film screenings, but Bard College holds film screenings with music from a live orchestra.

Georgia State University uses big data to improve the career prospects of its students. This approach has led two methodology sources to place it in the top five of their most innovative colleges lists. Business Insider ranks it at fourth, and US News ranks it at second for innovative national universities. Future versions of the other methodology lists are sure to feature Georgia State University, as it's a rapidly changing college. For instance, in five years it has increased its research funding awards from $59 million to over $100 million, which has created a range of exciting new ventures and opportunities for students.

US News names the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as its ninth most innovative national university. In fact, the college holds a significantly higher spot on the innovation list than on US News's general, "best national universities ranking," where it places at 165th. This shows that the college has put the ability to do things differently right at the forefront of its mission. Business Insider backs up this statement, noting that it has a focus on hands-on experience. It also places the college at seventh on its list. The most recent pioneering education that University of Maryland, Baltimore County has introduced is a summer project called the Interdisciplinary CoLab program, which brings nine students of different disciplines together to research and redefine subject matter. One example includes an online exhibit of essays and videos about old science fiction fanzines.

Reuters considers the University of Pennsylvania to be the fourth most innovative college in the world. However, US News is less generous and named it as the 32nd most innovative national university in America. In many ways, this college is at its most creative with its Online Learning Initiative. Unlike some renowned colleges, University of Pennsylvania considers online learning to be, "a vital part of our mission to increase access - around the world - to the educational resources that can change people's lives."

Both US News and Business Insider place Northeastern University in the top 10 on their most innovative colleges lists. US News places it at eighth, and Business Insider places it at sixth. And the sources are wowed by the college's professional work experience focused degrees. Every single subject at Northeastern has a strong aim to integrate the classroom with the professional world. This includes co-ops with employers, where 50% of participating students receive full-time job offers from their employer once the experience is completed.

This college ensures that its students, "ask hard questions and question easy answers." This approach has resulted in US News naming it the joint sixth most innovative liberal arts college in America. Additionally, College Xpress commends Grinnell in creating a highly customizable curriculum. This means that as a student, you only need to study in areas that you consider to be necessary for your life goals. If you're someone that craves freedom and responsibility in your college years and wants to study in a liberal arts college environment, then Grinnell could be perfect!

When grouped into the entire University of Texas System, this college makes the top 10 of one methodology list. The System is ninth place on Reuters' most innovative global colleges list. Additionally, University of Texas, Austin is US News's joint 16th most innovative national university in America. This college is heavily focused on its home state, and people who want to contribute to Texas's growing economy will benefit the most from this college's original teaching methods. For example, one of the college's biggest projects right now is Planet Texas 2050, which aims to provide solutions to Texas's predicted influx in population and exposure to increasingly severe weather over the next 30 years.

College Xpress notes that all freshman students at Amherst College have to take a seminar that encourages critical thinking and active learning. The ways that students implement these skills across their years of study have led US News to name it the eighth most innovative liberal arts college in the USA. And the college has over 850 courses for students to choose from. Amherst won't stop any student from taking a course. As long as it interests the individual, then the student can take it during study. Due to this openness, many students choose to take two majors during their course of study.

US News names the University of Notre Dame as the 27th most innovative national university in America. Additionally, Forbes raves about the college's business school's practical methods of teaching. The source notes that the college even sends students out into war zones as part of its study. Perhaps the most original way that the University of Notre Dame helps students is through its first-year openness. Students beginning college are free to, "explore the wealth of exciting opportunities Notre Dame holds." This means that for the entire first year, the students do not need to pick a major or even a specific school. And the college's faculty and staff provide strong levels of support in helping these first-year students pick their permanent focus for the sophomore year. This approach has led to a 96% graduation rate.

Ranking at sixth on US News's national universities list and 32nd on Reuters's Global Colleges list is Purdue University, West Lafayette. The college's educational approach has created innovators for over 150 years. Some of the college's most successful people include Charles Alton Ellis, who was one of the pioneering engineers of the Golden Gate Bridge; Adel Halasa, who developed a new form of rubber tire tread polymers; Brian Lamb, who founded the TV network C-SPAN; and Robert C. Barker, who invented chicken nuggets. The college is also showcasing many of its incredible student and faculty achievements and looking to the future at its Ideas Festival, which is running from 2018 to 2019.

During the course of study at Vassar College, the line between students and faculty begins to blur. College Xpress notes that this is because of the Ford Scholars Program, where teachers and learners work together to advance sciences and humanities. The work that students and faculty produce is diverse and important. For instance, in 2018, ongoing projects include creating learning techniques for autistic people outside of school spaces, understanding the relationship between global climate change and global racism and reframing drug crime to reduce mass incarceration. US News considers the institution to be the eighth most innovative liberal arts college in America.

The exciting activities of this college have led US News to name it the joint 32nd most innovative national university in America. Even better, Business Insider names it the joint 10th best college for doing things differently. And the students at Portland State University are immersed in the real world impact of their future careers from the very start. Like the college itself says, "At Portland State, students don't wait to change the world. Community-based learning forms the backbone of education here." This holds true for all courses and departments.

This Nashville based college ranks at 37th on US News's list and 10th on Reuters's list. It's fitting that the place that invented country music continues to be an incredibly innovative area. The college powers this innovation in a number of ways. One of the most effective of these is its Trans-Institutional Programs. These programs are, "designed to support new ideas, cutting-edge research and the development of infrastructure." It does this by facilitating research and teaching collaborations between a wide range of subjects. The uptick of this for students is that their professors will provide more broad and useful subject material as a result of participating in the programs.

Reuters names Emory University as the world's 54th most innovative college. Mashable is more specific and states that the college's Social Media & Virtual Communities course is the seventh most innovative college program worldwide. Since the publication of the Mashable list, social media has only become more popular. Emory has followed this trend by offering even more original social media courses. For instance, students can now enroll in programs focused on social media analytics, social media for business, and digital & social media strategy.

This college offers possibly the most original political degree options on the planet. US News places the college at joint 32nd on its most innovative American colleges list. And Forbes commends the way the college teaches its students about the global impacts of international laws. It does this through debates and interviews with government figures. In fact, Georgetown University has an even wider-ranging innovation initiative. It's named Designing the Future(s) and actively supports projects that break established educational rules. Many of its programs count towards students' course completion and overall grade.