CU Boulder Ranked Among Best Global Universities: U.S. News

BOULDER, CO — The University of Colorado Boulder recently was named one of the best in the world, according to a new ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Its 2021 Best Global Universities list ranked more than 1,500 schools in dozens of countries based on academic research and reputation.

CU Boulder, which was among hundreds of U.S. universities on this year’s list, was ranked No. 2 for Geosciences, No. 16 for Environment/Ecology and No. 38 for Physics.

Overall, the university ranked 59 on this year’s list.

Hundreds of U.S. schools made the 2021 list, and comprise a majority of the top 10 schools overall.

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Harvard University maintained its No. 1 rank, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at No. 2. Stanford University and the University of California - Berkeley are third and fourth, respectively. The United Kingdom’s University of Oxford finishes out the top five in the overall ranking.

The U.S. has the most universities in the overall ranking with 255, followed by these countries:

• China: 176
• U.K.: 87
• France: 70
• Germany: 68

To determine which schools make the list, U.S. News analyzes data and metrics provided by global analytics company, Clarivate, including student-to-faculty ratio and number of degrees awarded. Researchers then weigh factors that measure a university’s global and regional research reputation, as well as academic research performance. For the overall rankings, this includes indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration. Each subject ranking has its own methodology based on academic research performance in that specific area.

Here’s a look at how CU Boulder stacks up:

• Number of students: 34,481
• Number of faculty: 2,114
• Number of doctoral degrees awarded: 607
• Number of master's degrees awarded: 1,473
• Number of undergraduate degrees awarded: 6,494

U.S. News added 10 additional subject metrics in 2021, according to a release. Researchers said that given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it’s more important than ever to help prospective students decide whether to study abroad and where.

Best Global Universities is one of several rankings published by U.S. News annually. The publication also releases Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs to help students navigate higher education options.