The University of Texas at Austin has been recognized as both the 26th best university in the world and one of the “best buys” in higher education by a pair of prestigious organizations that track higher education internationally.
In the 2013 Center for World University Rankings, The University of Texas at Austin was ranked 26th among the world’s top 100 universities. The ranking puts the university in seventh place among public universities in the United States included in the rankings.
The World University Rankings are based on several criteria, including publications by faculty, influence, citations of faculty research, patents, faculty quality and employment of graduates. Among these criteria, the university ranked highest in patents (20th) and quality of faculty (24th).
“This illustrates how important attracting and retaining top faculty is beyond the primary benefit of having great teachers and researchers,” said UT Austin President Bill Powers, who will also serve as chairman of the Association of American Universities beginning this fall. “Faculty quality drives rankings, rankings build reputation, and a rising reputation attracts students, professors and staff of an ever higher quality.”
The only other Texas universities included in the top 100 are University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas (46), Texas AandM University-College Station (80) and Rice University in Houston (94).
Based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Center for World University Rankings endeavors to provide the most comprehensive university ranking available.
The second prominent ranking of the university, received from the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges, lists The University of Texas at Austin as one of the “Best Buys in Higher Education.”
The Fiske rankings during the past 30 years have chosen a select group of schools noted for quality academic offerings and affordable cost for its “Best Buy” rankings. This year’s rankings are composed of 21 public and 20 private colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It does not assign specific ranking numbers to these schools. The list includes three other Texas schools Texas AandM University, Rice University and Trinity University.
The rankings are the latest in a series that recognize UT Austin’s increasing excellence. These include U.S. News and World Report, which recognizes the university as the 46th best university in the nation and the London-based Times Higher Education, which recognizes UT Austin as the 25th best university in the world.
“The vision we are pursuing at UT Austin continues to be validated by international analysts, publications and rankings,” said Powers.
