Accreditations & Affiliations

Widely recognized for its excellent programs, the University of West Florida holds many accreditations, affiliations and rankings.

Accreditations & Affiliations

The University of West Florida is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees. The University of West Florida also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of The University of West Florida may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling 404.679.4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

The Bachelor of Science in Clinical Lab Sciences – MLT to MLS program is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and is licensed by the Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel.

The baccalaureate degree in nursing/master’s degree in nursing at UWF is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) accredits University of West Florida. CAEP promotes excellence in educator preparation through quality assurance and continuous improvement

The University of West Florida is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.

Social work programs at UWF are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Public Regional Universities 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges South Regional Universities 2023 Insight Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award 2022 Top Colleges for Diversity Great Colleges to Work For Honor Roll 2022
  • U.S. News & World Report
    • No. 45 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs — 2024
    • No. 30 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans — 2024
    • No. 8 in Best Colleges for Veterans — regional universities south — 2024
    • No. 27 in the best regional universities south — 2024
    • No. 10 in the top public schools — regional universities south — 2024
    • No. 45 in Best Value Schools — 2024
    • No. 56 in the top performers on social mobility — 2024
    • No. 42 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs — 2024
    • No. 23 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans — 2024
    • No. 58 in the best value schools — 2022
    • No. 14 in Most Innovative School — 2021
    • No. 230-301 in best national universities — 2019
    • No. 261 in best high school counselor rankings — 2019
    • No. 117 in best engineering programs (no doctorate) — 2019
    • No. 200 in best online bachelor’s programs — 2019

  • “Top Ten Military Friendly® School – Large Public Category” — 2023-24
  • Received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine — 2015-16, 2018-23
  • Named a “Best for Vets College” by Military Times — 2014-15, 2017, 2019-23
  • UWF named a College of Distinction in 2022-2023 Cohort by Colleges of Distinction
  • No. 3 in “Best Online Colleges in Florida” by BestValueSchools.com — 2021
  • No. 23 for “Best Online Public Colleges and Universities” by College Consensus — 2021
  • Named a “Military Spouse Friendly School” by Viqtory Media — 2021
  • No. 10 for the “Best Value Online Colleges & Universities” by College Consensus — 2021
  • Ranked Most Innovative in the “Best Colleges in Florida” by Intelligent.com — 2021
  • No. 5 in the best online colleges & universities in Florida by College Consensus — 2020 
  • Ranked in Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education college rankings — 2017-20
  • No. 7 in the state in WalletHub’s list of top higher education institutions — 2020
  • No. 77 for veteran friendliness by College Factual — 2020
  • Earned the second-highest score in the Florida Board of Governors’ Performance-Based Funding Metrics — 2019
  • No. 3 top performing state university by the Florida Board of Governors — 2017-18
  • A best southeastern college by The Princeton Review — 2003-19
  • America’s top colleges by Forbes — 2011-12, 2014-18

College of Business

  • U.S. News & World Report
    • No. 23 in Best Online Master’s in Business Programs for Veterans (Excluding MBA) — 2024
    • No. 57 in Best Online Master’s in Business Programs (Excluding MBA) — 2024
    • No. 162 in Best Online MBA Programs — 2024
    • No. 93 in Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans — 2024
  • No. 4 in the “Top 25 MBA Programs in Florida” by TopManagementDegrees.com — 2021
  • No. 20 for Top 50 Most Affordable Master’s in Public Administration (MSA) Degrees Online by BestColleges.com —2021
  • No. 24 in Best Master’s in Accounting Online Degrees by GuidetoOnlineSchools.com — 2020 
  • Listed in the Best Online Business Analytics MBA Programs by College Consensus — 2020
  • No. 12 in the “Best Online Master’s in Public Administration Degree Programs” by intelligent.com — 2020
  • No. 15 for the “Most Affordable Bachelor’s in Legal Studies” by GreatValueColleges.net — 2020 
  • No. 22 in the “Best Online MBA in Entrepreneurship Programs” by onlinecollegeplan.com — 2019
  • No. 15 in the “Best Online Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 20 in the “Best Online Programs: Master’s in Human Resources” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 13 in the “Best Online MBA in Supply Chain Management Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 12 in the “Best Online Master’s in Entrepreneurship Degree Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 29 in the “Best Online MBA Programs & Degrees” by Study.com — 2019
  • No. 17 in the “Best Online Master’s in Supply Chain Management Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2019
  • No. 16 in the “Best Online Master’s in Supply Chain Management Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 31 in the “Top 50 Most Affordable MBA Programs” by TopManagementDegrees.com — 2018

School of Education

  • No.142 in  Best Online Master’s in Education Programs by U.S. News & World Report — 2024
  • No. 34 in  Best Online Master’s in Education Programs for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report —2024
  • No. 6 for “Best Online Master’s in Educational Leadership Programs” by Intelligent.com – 2022
  • No. 5 for “Best Online Master’s in Educational Leadership Programs” by TheBestSchools.org – 2022
  • No. 13 for “Best Online Master’s in Educational Leadership Programs” by BestColleges.com – 2022
  • No. 15 for Best Online Colleges for Teaching (Bachelor’s) by College Values Online — 2022
  • No. 14 in the Best Online Master’s in Reading Education Programs by the EdAdvocate.org — 2021
  • Ranked in the “Best 15 Online Master’s in Reading and Literacy in 2021” list by Best Value Schools — 2021
  • Ranked in the “Best Online Doctor of Education Programs” by The Princeton Review — 2021
  • No. 14 for “Most Affordable Early Childhood Education Programs” by DiscoverEarlyChildhoodEDU.org — 2021
  • No. 7 in the Best Accredited Online Master’s in Educational Leadership by BestColleges.com — 2020 
  • No. 12 in the “Top Applied Behavior Analysis Online Programs” by AppliedBehaviorAnalysisPrograms.com — 2020 
  • No. 19 for the “Most Affordable Online Master’s in Instructional Design” by BestCollegesOnline.org — 2020
  • No. 3 in “The Top 50 Online Master’s in Educational Leadership” by Intelligent.com — 2020
  • No. 15 in the “Best Online Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 13 in the “Best Online Master’s in Elementary Education Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 17 in the “The Best Online Master’s in Reading & Literacy Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 1 in the “20 Most Affordable PhD in Online Teaching Online 2019” by AffordableSchools.net — 2019
  • No. 34 in the “Best Online Master’s in Special Education” by onlineschoolsreport.com — 2019
  • No. 2 in the “14 Cheap Doctorates in Curriculum and Instruction Online 2019” by BestValueSchools.com — 2018
  • No. 5 in the “Top 45 Cheapest Master’s in Educational Technology Online 2019” by BestValueSchools.com — 2018
  • No. 11 in the “The 30 Best Online Master’s in Educational Leadership Degree Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 4 in the “The 10 Best Online Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 8 in the “Best Online Doctorate in Educational Technology Degree Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 2 for “Best Bachelor’s in Special Education Online Degree Programs” by BestCollegeReviews.org — 2018
  • UWF Doctoral Program welcomed to the Carnegie Project on the Educational Doctorate (CPED) Consortium — 2018
  • No. 12 in the list of “Most Affordable Online Master’s Degrees in Special Education” by BestEducationDegrees.com — 2018
  • No. 18 for the “Most Affordable Online Master’s in Educational Leadership” by BestCollegesOnline.org — 2018
  • No. 8 in the “Top 15 Best Applied Behavior Analysis Online Programs” by AppliedBehaviorAnalysisPrograms.com — 2018
  • No. 8 in the “Best Online Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 8 in the “Most Affordable Online Doctoral Degrees” by SR Education Group — 2018
  • No. 17 in the “Best Early Childhood Education Degrees” by CollegeChoice.net — 2018
  • Ranked by MastersProgramGuide.com for the Best Online Master’s Programs — 2018
    • No. 48 in the “50 Best Online Master of Special Education Degree Programs”
    • No. 40 in the “50 Best Online Master of Public Administration Programs”
  • No. 5 for the “Best Online Doctorates in Curriculum and Instruction” by CollegeChoice.net — 2018

Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering

  • No. 39 in “Best Online Master’s Information Technology Programs” for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report — 2024
  • No. 17 in Best Online Master’s in Computer Information Technology Programs for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report — 2024
  • No. 13 in Best Online Master’s Degrees in Environmental Science by Online Master’s Degrees — 2023
  • No. 22 in Best Bachelor Degrees in Cyber Security by Best Accredited Colleges – 2022
  • No. 2 in Best Online IT Degree Programs by EDsmart – 2022
  • Ranked No. 2 in the “Best Affordable Online Cybersecurity Master Degree Programs” by Cybersecurity Guide — 2020
  • No. 3 in the “Top 40 Online Master’s Degrees in Computer Science” by Intelligent.com — 2020
  • No. 14 in the “Best Online Master of Mathematics Degree Programs” by MastersProgramsGuide.com — 2019
  • No. 27 in the “The Best Online Master’s in Computer Science Programs” by OnlineMasters.com — 2019
  • No. 7 in the “Top Online Master’s Degrees in Geographic Information Systems” by BestCollegeReviews.org — 2018
  • No. 29 in the “Best Master’s Degrees in Environmental Science” by CollegeChoice.net — 2018
  • No. 26 in the “Top 50 Institutions for Online Master’s Degrees in Computer Science” by MastersProgramGuide.com — 2018

Usha Kundu, MD College of Health

  • No. 15 in the Master’s Nursing Veterans category by U.S. News & World Report (the only university in the Florida State University System to rank) — 2024
  • No. 124 in  Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs by U.S. News & World Report — 2024
  • No. 2 in the Best Online RN to BSN Programs in Florida by registerednursing.org — 2022
  • No. 6 for “Top 10 RN to MSN Programs” by NursingSchoolHub.com — 2022
  • No. 4 in the “Best Online Bachelor’s in Health Science Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2022
  • Ranked Best Online Nursing School Master’s Programs by the Princeton Review — 2022
  • No. 27 in “Best Online Public Health Degrees” by EduMed — 2021
  • No. 7 in The Best Prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Programs in Florida by Nursing Schools Almanac — 2021
  • No. 7 in the “Best Online Bachelor’s in Health Science Degree Programs” by Intelligent.com — 2021
  • No. 7 in the “Best Online RN to BSN Programs” by RegisteredNursing.org — 2021
  • No. 24 in the “Top 25 Public Health Programs in the South” by mphonline.org — 2021
  • No. 1 in the “Best Online RN to BSN Programs in Florida” by registerednursing.org — 2021
  • Ranked in the “Top Master’s in Public Health Programs” by intelligent.com — 2021
  • No. 99 in Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs by U.S. News & World Report — 2021
  • Ranked No 8. for “25 Most Affordable Online MPH Programs” by mphonline.org — 2021
  • Ranked No. 14 for “Top 25 Most Affordable Online Master’s in Nursing Educator Programs” by NursingSchoolHub.com — 2021
  • No. 25 for the Best Online Master’s in Healthcare Management by CollegeConsensus.com — 2020
  • No. 1 in the “Best Online Bachelor’s in Health Science Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 23 in the “Best Online Master of Healthcare Administration Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 3 in the “Best Online Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration Programs” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 4 in the “25 Best Affordable Master’s in Public Health Online Degrees 2019” by AffordableSchools.net — 2019
  • No. 8 in the “Best Online RN to BSN Program” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 24 in the “Best Online Master’s in Public Health Program” by BestColleges.com — 2019
  • No. 3 in the “10 Most Affordable Master’s in Public Health Online 2018” by GradSchoolHub.com — 2018
  • No. 6 in the “Top 25 Most Affordable Online Master’s in Public Health” by Healthcare-Management-Degree.net — 2018
  • No. 20 in the “30 Best Online Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration Degrees” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 25 in the “50 Best Online Master of Public Health Online Degree Programs” by MastersProgramGuide.com — 2018

College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

  • No. 63 in  Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs by U.S. News & World Report — 2024
  • No. 7 in the “Best 14 Zero Residency Online Master’s In Creative Writing in 2021” list by Best Value Schools — 2021
  • No. 20 in the “The Best Online Master of Criminal Justice Degree Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2019
  • No. 8 in the “15 Best Affordable Paralegal Studies Degree Programs (Bachelor’s)” by Affordable Schools — 2019
  • No. 4 in the “The 5 Best Online Master’s in Political Science Degree Programs” by TheBestSchools.org — 2018
  • No. 9 in “Best Colleges for Communication Majors in Florida” by Zippia.com — 2018
  • No. 9 in the “Best Legal Studies Degrees” by CollegeChoice.net — 2018
Apply Now Chat Now Get Started