24 CA Schools Among Best Universities In The World: U.S. News

STANFORD, CA — Twenty-four Golden State schools were named among the best universities in the world in a new ranking conducted by U.S. News & World Report.

The publication on Tuesday released its 2022 Best Global Universities list, which ranks more than 1,700 schools in dozens of countries based on academic research and reputation.

Overall, more than 90 countries are represented on the 2022 list.

"These rankings stand out from our other education rankings due to their emphasis on academic research," Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, said in a news release. The rankings help provide “even more
information for prospective students interested in schools where research is a top priority."

Stanford University, a private research institute in Northern California, was listed as the top Golden State school on the ranking. Many famous alumni once walked its prestigious halls such as actress Jennifer Connelly, Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, actor Ted Danson, actress Sigourney Weaver and even Reese Witherspoon, who dropped out.

Overall, the university ranked no. 3 on this year’s list.

Just under Stanford was University of California, Berkeley, ranking at no. 4. The campus, founded in 1868, is the state's first land-grant school and it is also the first campus of the University of California system.

Claremont Graduate School was also featured on this year’s list. The graduate school, founded in 1925, offers an intimate research environment at its campus in Claremont, on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County.

Here's a full list of how each California school ranked:

• no. 3 Stanford University
• no. 4 University of California--Berkeley
• no. 9 California Institute of Technology
• no. 11 University of California--San Francisco
• no. 14 University of California--Los Angeles
• no. 67 University of California--Santa Barbara
• no. 67 University of California--Davis
• no. 70 University of Southern California
• no. 86 University of California--Irvine
• no. 103 University of California--Santa Cruz
• no. 169 University of California--Riverside
• no. 610 San Diego State University
• no. 619 University of California--San Diego
• no. 718 University of California--Merced
• no. 738 California State University--Fresno
• no. 788 California State University--Fullerton
• no. 970 Loma Linda University
• no. 983 California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo
• no. 1175 San Francisco State University
• no. 1,207 California State University--Northridge
• no. 1,368 Chapman University
• no. 1,418 San Jose State University
• no. 1,565 California State University--Long Beach
• no. 1,582 Claremont Graduate School

This year’s list ranked 1,750 schools, up from 1,500 last year.

Colleges in the United States secured four of the top five spots on the 2022 list. Harvard University came in at No. 1, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and the University of California - Berkeley at No. 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Rounding out the top five is the United Kingdom’s University of Oxford.

At 271, the United States has the most universities in the overall ranking, followed by these countries:

China: 253
Japan: 93
United Kingdom: 89
Germany: 70

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. The overall ranking 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.

Read more about the Best Global Universities methodology.

U.S. News also added five additional subject metrics for 2022, according to a release, including condensed matter physics, food science and technology, optics, physical chemistry, and polymer science.

Best Global Universities is one of several post-secondary education 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.