For the fourth straight year, U.S. News & World Report ranked Pacific Union College among the top ten regional liberal arts colleges. The college ranked fifth, up from last year's ranking of sixth, and remains the highest ranking regional liberal arts college in California. Significantly, U.S. News also listed PUC in its top ten list of "Best Values" among liberal arts colleges in the western United States.

For this year's rankings, U.S. News employed a new, even more thorough approach. Overall rankings were based on academic quality, faculty-to-student ratio, available resources, financial aid, student diversity, and pre-professional programs. PUC scored especially high in all categories, especially academic quality, faculty-to-student ratio, and student diversity.