UC San Diego Nets No. 20 Spot on New List of Globe’s Best Universities

Article Content

A new world ranking names the University of California San Diego the globe’s 20th best university; the campus is ranked 16th among U.S. universities. The annual list from the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) measure universities’ quality of research, faculty, influence, enterprise and successful alumni. 

The rankings evaluated 2,000 universities worldwide, making it the largest academic ranking of global universities, according to CWUR.

“We are pleased to receive this honor, as our university’s positive impact and reach continue to grow,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “The caliber of UC San Diego’s faculty, the impact of our research, and quality of our teaching are unmatched. We continue to break ground as a one of the world’s most premier public research institutions with faculty and alumni who aren’t afraid to take risks in the pursuit of academic excellence and contributions to the greater good.”

From deciphering why California’s coastline glows from bioluminescence activity, to leading the world’s largest citizen science microbiome project, and developing a new blood test that can detect pancreatic cancer early on, UC San Diego’s faculty and research are at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation that improves the lives of millions around the globe. 

CWUR uses seven objective and robust indicators to rank the world’s universities without relying on surveys and university data submissions. The indicators and UC San Diego’s ranking within each category are as follows:

Quality of Education (37), measured by the number of alumni who have won major international awards, prizes and medals relative to the university’s size.
Alumni Employment (> 1000), measured by the number of alumni who have held CEO positions at the world’s top companies relative to the university’s size.
Quality of Faculty (16), measured by the number of academics who have won major international awards, prizes and medals.
Research output (28), measured by the number of research papers appearing in reputable journals.
Quality of publications (16), measured by the number of research papers appearing in top-tier journals.
Influence (5), measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals.
Citations (16), measured by the number of highly-cited research papers.

UC San Diego consistently performs well in national and international rankings. Many of UC San Diego’s graduate programs were ranked in the top 20 in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools guidebook. In addition, the campus was named the 15th best university in the world by the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). And, U.S. News and World Report’s global rankings included UC San Diego as the 17th best on its annual list.

For more information about UC San Diego’s rankings, go to the campus profile. For more information on the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), click here.