UC San Diego Rises to No. 4 Among U.S. Public Universities in Academic Ranking of World Universities

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The 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has recognized the University of California San Diego as No. 4 among public universities in the United States, rising one spot from last year. UC San Diego also jumped two spots to No. 19 in the world in the latest edition of the annual ranking released by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

“We are pleased to see UC San Diego’s reputation as one of the top-ranked global research universities continue to climb in global rankings and recognition,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “Our impressive placement in the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities spotlights UC San Diego as a world-class institution whose community of scholars actively pursues groundbreaking discovery and innovation to solve society’s biggest challenges.”  

As a $1.76-billion research enterprise, UC San Diego is home to researchers who lead the way to new discoveries in a diversity of fields, ranging from political science and physics to computer science and chemistry. The university received 66 individual distinctions according to Clarivate’s most recent Highly Cited Researchers list, jumping up from 51 the previous year. 

UC San Diego is also recognized by Clarivate as among the top 10 most cited institutions in the world. Among the list of exceptional researchers highlighted by the organization are Uri Gneezy, Jacqueline Kerr and Rob Knight. Gneezy, a professor of economics, recently authored a new book that provides a look at how incentives work. Kerr, a behavior scientist, is dedicated to dismantling the causes of working mom burnout. Knight is a pioneer in studying human microbes. He was also recognized by Clarivate as ranking in the top 1 percent of the most Highly Cited Researchers in the world. A professor of pediatrics, bioengineering, computer science and engineering, Knight is the founding Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation.

UC San Diego is consistently on the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation, exploring everywhere from the deep ocean to the expanses of outer space. Last month, the university announced the formation of its new Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Students in the new department have the opportunity to complete in-depth astronomy and astrophysics coursework, as well as gain valuable research experience.

Further, the university is committed to generating impactful research that has the potential to both improve and save lives on a global scale. This August, UC San Diego scientists and their colleagues in Australia announced they have engineered bacteria that can detect the presence of tumor DNA in a live organism. Their innovation, which detected cancer in the colons of mice, could pave the way to new biosensors capable of identifying various infections, cancers and other diseases. UC San Diego bioengineers also recently co-led a study that can provide insight into the progression of kidney disease after acute kidney injury. Their work is the largest single-cell atlas of the human kidney to date that maps healthy and diseased cell states across over 90 patients.

Established in 2003, the ARWU evaluates over 2500 institutions to compile its final list of the top 1000 universities in the world. The ARWU uses six indicators to rank universities: the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals; number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate; number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science; number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded™ and Social Sciences Citation Index™ in the Web of Science™; and per capita performance of a university.

Full methodology and more information on the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities can be accessed on the organization's website. For more information about UC San Diego rankings, visit the Campus Profile.