Each year we especially enjoy writing about the Times Higher Education World University Rankings because unlike most U.S. ranking publications and the current trend of disparaging academic research at public institutions, the Times rankings embrace research as “the single most influential of the 13 indicators,” as the Times “looks at the role of universities in spreading new knowledge and ideas.”
This year, U.S. public universities occupy 24 of the top 100 slots, while U.S. private universities account for another 23 positions. The Times surveys 400 institutions, so being in the top 100 is certainly a noteworthy achievement. The continuing worldwide respect for U.S. higher education is even more remarkable, given the number of detractors in this country.
The Times rankings do not ignore metrics for class size and financial resources as they focus on research, but they certainly do not make them determinative. The downside to the Times list is that it does not include a metric for graduation rates.
But to us, the Times rankings are like old-time football: straight up head knocking to see who’s the best, and forget who has the most expensive stadium or the best recruiting class. On the other hand, we believe that they are most useful in tandem with some of the other rankings that place more emphasis on class size as well as graduation rates. In effect, the Times rankings offset some of the shortcomings of the U.S. News rankings, and the U.S. News rankings do the same for the Times rankings.
Below are six lists. The first lists the U.S. public universities that are in the top 100 universities in the world, according to the Times rankings. We will show the world rank, and then list the university.
The other five lists show the U.S. universities that are in the top 50 in the subject areas ranked by the Times: Arts and Humanities; Engineering and Technology; Life Sciences; Physical Sciences; and Social Sciences. Again, we will list the world rank of each university within each subject area, and then the name of the university.
U.S. Public Universities in the Top 100 Worldwide:
9–UC Berkeley
13–UCLA
20–Michigan
24–Washington
25–UT Austin
26–Georgia Tech
31–Wisconsin
33–Illinois
35–UC Santa Barbara
38–UC San Diego
42–North Carolina
44–UC Davis
47–Minnesota
53–Ohio State
61–Penn State
69–Purdue
72–Massachusetts Amherst
76–Pitt
91–Colorado
94–Michigan State
96–UC Irvine
97–Maryland
98–Arizona
99–Rutgers
Arts and Humanities: Top 50 Worldwide
7–UC Berkeley
16–UCLA
18–Michigan
20–Rutgers
22–UT Austin
27–Wisconsin
33–North Carolina
35–UCSD
42–Massachusetts Amherst
45–Pitt
49–Virginia
49–Arizona
Engineering and Technology: Top 50 Worldwide
4–UC Berkeley
7–UCLA
9–Georgia Tech
13–UT Austin
17–UC Santa Barbara
19–Michigan
20–Illinois
34–Washington
36–UC San Diego
41–Wisconsin
42–Purdue
45–Minnesota
48–UC Davis
Life Sciences: Top 50 Worldwide
6–UC Berkeley
15–UCLA
17–UC San Diego
18–Michigan
24–Washington
30–Wisconsin
35–North Carolina
38–Massachusetts Amherst
39–UC Santa Barbara
43–Penn State
47–Illinois
Physical Sciences: Top 50 Worldwide
2–UC Berkeley
9–UCLA
14–Washington
15–UC Santa Barbara
18–UT Austin
20–Michigan
24–Illinois
30–Colorado
38–Wisconsin
47–Georgia Tech
48–UC Santa Cruz
Social Sciences: Top 50 Worldwide
12–Michigan
12–UCLA
14–UC Berkeley
21–Wisconsin
25–North Carolina
27–Washington
28–UT Austin
29–Minnesota
34–Ohio State
37–Penn State
47–Michigan State
49–UC Santa Barbara
