The 25 Most Diverse Schools

Soka University of America may be small, but it's big on diversity. Though the much younger sister school to the Soka University of Japan has only been around about a decade--and enrolls just 378 undergrads, the school has already been noticed in NEWSWEEK's rankings, taking spots on four of our "best of" lists.  It is the 20th most desirable suburban school in the nation and the 24th most desirable small school.

It is also 12th on the list for diversity. This makes sense when you consider the college's mission is founded on Buddhist principles of peace and human rights and the responsibilities of global citizenship.  The college draws over half of its student body from countries outside the United States and includes in its four-year curriculum (and tuition) a semester abroad for every undergraduate.

Located in Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, California, the private liberal arts college occupies 103 acres just miles from the beach, which helps account for its 16th position in the list of schools offering terrific weather with strong academics.

SUA claims a 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio and an average class size of 13 students.

To rank colleges and universities by diversity, we took a broad view of related issues, including ethnicity, geographic origin, economic status, gender, and sexual orientation. Read more about our methodology here.