The website College Rank rates educational institutions on a wide variety of measures. The founders of the site state that “we are passionate about student experiences, student outcomes, and guiding students to colleges where they can be happy and successful. Our mission is to rank everything college, and dissect every aspect of student life.”
Among the website’s new rankings is the 50 Most Amazing College Museums. The Harvard University Museum of Natural History tops the list followed by the Yale University Peabody Museum and the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota.
Two museums at women’s colleges appear on the list. The Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California, ranks in the 45th position. College Rank says that the museum “is home to over 10,000 diverse works of art with the largest permanent collection of any liberal arts college on the West Coast. Not only are the art collections amazing, but the actual building itself is a sight to behold.”
Ranking in 11th place is the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts. College Rank says that the museum at Smith “has a stunning collection that rivals nearby Harvard.” It adds that “the museum’s holdings are selected from a wide swathe of time periods and styles, with Asian, African, American and European art from ancient to contemporary times all equally represented. With its deep roots in education for women, it’s no surprise that Smith College’s art collection includes a profound number of selections by top female artists.”