AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. News and World Report has ranked The University of Texas at Austin No. 30 in the world in its first-ever Global University Rankings, marking the fourth time this year a prestigious international group has placed UT Austin among the best international universities.
The rankings are based on 10 indicators that measure universities’ academic research performance and their global and regional reputation, according to the publication. Students are encouraged to use the rankings to explore higher education options globally and compare key aspects of schools’ research missions.
“This ranking confirms what we see on our campus every day: outstanding faculty teaching world-class students. We say, ‘What starts here changes the world.’ The world is noticing,” said President Bill Powers, who will be stepping down as president next June after nine years leading the flagship university.
The ranking placed UT Austin No. 23 among U.S. universities and No. 10 among public universities in the U.S.
UT Austin has been ranked near the top globally in other recent publications, including:
- No. 28 in the world by Times Higher Education (United Kingdom).
- No. 29 in the world by the Center for World University Rankings (Saudi Arabia).
- No. 39 in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is compiled by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China).
The U.S. News Global Rankings are based on different criteria than the U.S. News Best College rankings, which listed UT Austin at No. 53, and annual Best Graduate School rankings, which rate individual disciplines.
The global rankings focus specifically on schools’ academic research and reputation overall and not their separate undergraduate or graduate programs, according to U.S. News. And they rely heavily on metrics such as faculty publications, citations and highly cited papers, drawing on data from Thompson Reuters, the largest international organization that tracks research productivity.
The overall rankings include 500 universities in 49 countries.