US News: UA a 'Top Global University'

Oct. 30, 2018
Nick Prevenas, University Communications

 

The University of Arizona has once again been recognized as one of the world's best research institutions by U.S. News & World Report.

The UA ranked tied for No. 81 out of 1,250 higher-education institutions across 75 countries in the 2019 Best Global Universities ranking, released Tuesday. The UA also ranked tied for No. 43 among universities in the U.S.

"The University of Arizona is one of the world's leaders in cutting-edge research," said UA President Robert C. Robbins. "Our position in this year's Best Global Universities ranking is indicative of our commitment toward training the next generation of inventors and thinkers."

The UA's highest ranking came with its space science program at No. 10, with high finishes in space science global research reputation (No. 8) and publications (No. 9). UA researchers currently serve leadership roles in the groundbreaking OSIRIS-REx mission to retrieve and analyze particles from asteroid Bennu.

The UA also scored well in books published (80), global research reputation (89), highly cited papers (95), international collaboration (106) and publications (116).

The UA placed in the top 100 around the world for its programs in plant and animal sciences (22), geosciences (29), environment and ecology (39), arts and humanities (43), social sciences and public health (73) and psychiatry/psychology (92).

The fifth annual Best Global Universities ranking is produced in order to provide insight into how research institutions compare throughout the world. The rankings focus specifically on schools' academic research and reputation overall.

U.S. News & World Report weighs factors that measure a university's global and regional research reputation and academic research performance using indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration. This year's list further emphasized excellence in academic research by factoring in the total number of highly cited papers in the top 1 percent of their respective fields.

The UA finished 77th in last year's list.

In September, the UA tied for No. 46 among U.S. public universities in the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2019 rankings.