Calvin University is one of just 16 colleges and universities to be shortlisted on the Fiske Guide to College’s “Small Colleges and Universities Strong in Engineering” category.
Released this past week, the 2025 guidebook—compiled by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske—takes a selective, subjective, and systematic look at 300-plus colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, and the UK.
This isn’t the first time Calvin’s engineering program has received national attention. Just this past year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Calvin among its Top 50 “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs.” And, this spring, the program was featured in USA Today’s Sustainability Issue, highlighting a class project that led to students discovering a pathway for the university to move its carbon neutrality target date up nearly a quarter century.
Academically excellent, distinctively Christian
That national reputation for academic excellence and the institution’s commitment to integrating the Christian faith with learning are key factors students choose to study engineering at Calvin.
“There are a lot of small Christian schools in the United States and a lot of schools with really great engineering programs,” said Nate Anderson ’23, who majored in engineering with a mechanical concentration. “But if you look at the Venn diagram of the two different categories, there’s almost nothing in the middle.”
Equipped to solve problems
Graduates of the program also attest to how well they were prepared, gaining invaluable experience inside and outside the classroom.
“All the engineering classes we take focus on problem solving,” said Trevor Boer ‘23, who majored in engineering with a civil and environmental concentration. “So just the general curriculum in the engineering program prepares all students well for tackling a design problem.”
“A lot of the time you think you are restricted to what’s in the textbook, what’s coming on the test, but getting the opportunity to look at real-life stuff makes you feel like an engineer before you get that certificate at graduation,” said Panashe Makuvaro ‘24, who majored in engineering with a mechanical concentration.
A key differentiator
While engineering students at Calvin can concentrate in one of six different areas (chemical, civil & environmental, electrical & computer, energy, environment, and sustainability, mechanical, or mechatronics), they also have a distinct advantage over many of their peers at other institutions—the opportunity to add an international designation, which includes studying abroad, to their degree and to fit that in within their four-year experience. Faculty say this designation is looked at as a key differentiator in the marketplace.
“Employers want engineers who can reach across boundaries and work effectively with all kinds of people, in all kinds of places,” said Matt Heun, professor of engineering. “Our students are successful in all phases of engineering from requirements to feasibility to R&D to manufacturing to implementation.”
In addition to the opportunity to receive an international designation, students are also surrounded by a diverse community of learners. In fact, students from 55 countries and nearly every U.S. state call Calvin home each year.
About Fiske Guide to Colleges
For more than 40 years, the Fiske Guide to Colleges has aimed to help prospective students and their families discover the real personality of top colleges and universities based on a broad range of subjects, including student body, academics, social life, financial aid, campus setting, housing, food, and extracurricular activities.
In addition to the guidebook, Fiske is also available as an iPad app on iTunes and a web program on CollegeCountdown.com. Fiske Interactive allows families to go beyond the book by viewing photos of each campus, creating school lists, and taking virtual notes.
Edward B. Fiske served for 17 years as education editor of the New York Times, where he realized that college-bound students and their families needed better information on which to base their educational choices. He is also the coauthor of the Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College and Fiske Real College Essays That Work.
About Calvin University
Founded in 1876, Calvin University is a top-ranked, liberal arts institution that equips its 3,300 students from 48 U.S. states, 55 countries, and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. Calvin offers 100+ majors and programs, including a growing portfolio of graduate-level offerings. Calvin students engage in intensive internships, community-based service learning, and significant research that results in publishing and presenting alongside world-class faculty. The university’s 400-acre campus is in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Discover more at www.calvin.edu.
