Ten IL Colleges Ranked Among Best Global Universities: U.S. News

ILLINOIS — Ten Illinois universities were recently named among 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.

At No. 15, the University of Chicago was the top-ranked school in Illinois and among hundreds of U.S. universities on this year’s list. Located in Chicago's Hyde Park, the private university dates back to 1890 and boasts several highly ranked graduate programs, including the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago Law School and Pritzker School of Medicine, which includes the University of Chicago Medical Center, a teaching hospital. The university is the site of the Argonne National Laboratory — a science and engineering research center born out of the university's work on the Manhattan Project in the 1940s — and Fermilab, the only national laboratory dedicated to the study of particle physics.

U.S. schools comprise a majority of the top 10 schools on the 2021 list.

Harvard University maintained its No. 1 rank, while the 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:

• 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 Illinois' colleges stack up:

• University of Chicago (#15)
• Northwestern University (#24)
• University of Illinois — Urbana-Champaign (#60)
• University of Illinois — Chicago (#212)
• Rush University (#467)
• Northern Illinois University (#703)
• Illinois Institute of Technology (#763)
• Loyola University Chicago (#817)
• DePaul University (#1,390)
• Illinois State University (#1,396)

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.