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Chapter 12

Academic & Reputational Rankings

Overview

The publication of university and college rankings has grown increasingly popular since U.S. News released the results of its first reputational survey of U.S. universities in 1983. Dozens of prominent national and international rankings are now published annually, each using different methodologies to attempt to quantify and compare the wide-ranging academic and social characteristics of higher education institutions.

While many rankings today are still largely based on institutional reputation surveys of university and college presidents, provosts, and deans, most rankings are also based on enrollment, affordability, faculty/staff, and research data which is either publicly available through federal or state government sources or is provided by institutions through statistical surveys.

Ranking lists are part of the public conversation about higher education and they can influence policymakers, prospective students, and donors. However, rankings aren’t always a good holistic evaluation of an institution’s commitment to academic excellence and societal impact. What matters most is that students choose institutions that match their particular interests, abilities, and ambitions with the programs, approaches and opportunities offered by a particular school.

U-M is continually recognized as an excellent institution in rankings lists. In this chapter you will find tables showing well-known rankings, with U-M’s position alongside those of schools it considers as peers.

 

 

US News & World Report

The U-M is one of the nation’s leading public universities, according to the methodology used by the U.S. News & World Report to produce its Best Colleges Rankings of National Undergraduate Universities.

12.1.1 U.S. News & World Report Rankings of National Undergraduate Universities, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 (All) 2025 (Publics)
Princeton University 1 1 1 1 1 –
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2 2 2 2 2 –
Harvard University 2 3 3 3 3 –
Yale University 5 3 5 5 4 –
Stanford University 6 3 3 4 4 –
University of Chicago 6 6 12 11 6 –
Northwestern University 9 10 9 6 7 –
Johns Hopkins University 9 7 9 6 7 –
Duke University 9 10 7 6 7 –
University of Pennsylvania 8 7 6 10 7 –
Cornell University 17 17 12 11 12 –
University of California-Berkeley 22 20 15 17 15 1
Columbia University 2 18 12 13 15 –
University of California-Los Angeles 20 20 15 15 17 2
Carnegie Mellon University 25 22 24 21 20 –
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 23 25 21 21 20 3
Washington University in St Louis 14 15 24 21 20 –
Emory University 21 22 24 24 24 –
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 28 29 22 27 26 4
University of Virginia 25 25 24 24 26 4
University of Southern California 27 25 28 27 28 –
University of Texas-Austin 38 38 32 30 30 7
Georgia Institute of Technology 38 44 33 33 32 9
University of Wisconsin-Madison 42 38 35 39 36 12
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 47 41 35 33 36 12
Ohio State University 49 49 43 41 41 15
University of Washington 59 55 40 46 42 16

   SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report, America’s Best Colleges

The U.S. News & World Report (USN&WR) system for creating a ranked list of 434 national universities (that is, universities that offer a full range of undergraduate majors, as well as master’s and Ph.D. programs, and emphasize faculty research) is based on indicators chosen by USN&WR to reflect the academic quality of each institution.

The current indicators (and their contribution to the overall ranking) include: six-year graduation rates and performance (26%); opinions of administrators at peer institutions (20%); Pell Grant graduation rates and performance (11%); average spending per student on instruction, research and student services (8%); faculty resources and salaries (8%); first-year retention rates (5%); borrower debt (5%); college graduates earning more than a high school graduate (5%); standardized test scores (5%); citations of university publications (4%); and student-faculty ratio (3%). Additional detail on how these items are used to calculate the rankings can be found on the USN&WR website or the annual rankings publication.

U-M consistently ranks among the top five public universities according to USN&WR methodology. Michigan receives high marks for retention of first-year undergraduates, graduation rate, the percentage of college graduates earning more than a high school graduate, and its academic reputation.

 

102 U-M graduate schools and programs are listed in the top ten in their fields (in bold) by U.S. News & World Report.

12.1.2 U.S. News & World Report Rankings of U-M Graduate Schools and Programs, 2025

Best Business Schools (Overall rank: 13)

Accounting: 4
Business Analytics: 24
Entrepreneurship: 7
Executive MBA: 7
Finance: 10
Information Systems: 16
International: 7
Management: 2
Marketing: 3
Nonprofit: 7
Part-time MBA: 7
Production/Operations: 4
Project Management: 3
Supply Chain/Logistics: 8

Best Computer Science Schools (Overall rank: 11)

Artificial Intelligence: 9
Programming Language: 13
Systems: 7
Theory: 16

Best Education Schools (Overall rank: 2)

Curriculum/Instruction: 4
Education Policy: 6
Educational Administration: 8
Educational Psychology: 3
Elem. Teacher Education: 4
Higher Education Admin.: 2
Secondary Teacher Education: 3

Best Engineering Schools (Overall rank: 11)

Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical: 5
Biomedical/Bioengineering: 8
Chemical Engineering: 7
Civil Engineering: 5
Computer Engineering: 7
Electrical/Electronic/Communications: 6
Environmental Engineering: 4
Industrial/Manufacturing/Systems: 2
Materials Engineering: 8
Mechanical Engineering: 5
Nuclear Engineering: 1

Best Fine Arts Programs (Overall rank: 8)

No ranked specialties

Best Library & Information Studies Schools (Overall rank: 5)

Archives & Preservation: 4
Digital Librarianship: 8
Health Librarianship: 2
Information Systems: 3

Best Life and Physical Sciences Schools

Biological Sciences: 23
– Cell Biology: 18
– Ecology/Evolutionary Biology: 9
Chemistry: 14
– Analytical Chemistry: 6
– Biochemistry: 12
– Organic Chemistry: 11
– Inorganic Chemistry: 12
– Physical Chemistry: 19
Earth Sciences: 9
– Geochemistry: 11
– Geology: 10
– Paleontology: 3
Mathematics: 11
– Algebra/Algebraic Geometry: 6
– Analysis: 12
– Applied Math: 13
– Discrete Math & Combinatorics: 10
– Geometry: 11
– Topology: 9
Physics: 13
– Condensed Matter: 16
– Elem. Part./Fields/String Th.: 12
Statistics: 7

Best Nursing Schools – Master’s (Overall rank: 6)

Master’s Nurse Prac. Adult/Ger. Acute Care: 7
Master’s Nurse Pract. Adult/Ger. Prim Care: 8
Master’s Nurse Practitioner Family: 8

Best Nursing Schools – Dr. Nursing Practice (Overall rank: 8)

DNP Nurse Practitioner-Family: 9
DNP Nurse Prac. Adult/Ger. Primary Care: 6

Best Public Affairs Schools (Overall rank: 3)

Environ. Policy & Mgmt.: 5
Health Policy & Management: 2
International/Global Policy and Admin: 12
Nonprofit Management: 27
Public Finance & Budgeting: 27
Public Management & Leadership: 26
Public Policy Analysis: 2
Social Policy: 1
Urban Policy: 12

Best Public Health Schools (Overall rank: 2)

Biostatistics: 3
Environmental Health Sciences: 6
Epidemiology: 5
Health Policy and Management: 3
Social and Behavioral Sciences: 5

Best Social Sciences Schools

Economics: 12
– Development Economics: 12
– Econometrics: 17
– Industrial Organization: 15
– International Economics: 9
– Labor Economics: 7
– Macroeconomics: 14
– Microeconomics: 14
– Public Finance: 7
English: 8
– 18th Through 20th Century British Lit: 10
– Gender & Literature: 7
– Literary Criticism & Theory: 18
History: 6
– African History: 5
– African-American History: 9
– Asian History: 8
– Cultural History: 10
– European History: 7
– Latin American History: 4
– Modern U.S. History: 7
– U.S. Colonial History: 11
– Women’s History: 4
Political Science: 5
– American Politics: 1
– Comparative Politics: 7
– International Politics: 6
– Political Methodology: 4
Sociology: 1
– Economic Sociology: 5
– Historical Sociology: 1
– Sex and Gender: 5
– Social Stratification: 3
– Sociology of Culture: 14
– Sociology of Population: 5
Psychology: 3
– Behavioral Neuroscience: 3
– Cognitive Psychology: 8
– Developmental Psychology: 2
– Social Psychology: 1

Best Programs – Other Health Fields

Clinical Psychology: 2
Healthcare Management: 7
Nursing Midwifery: 3
Pharmacy: 2
Social Work: 1

   SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report, America’s Best Grad Schools

U.S. News & World Report publishes rankings of graduate programs offered by U.S. universities based on surveys of administrators, academics, and professionals as well as data that reflect the quality of a program’s faculty, students, and research. Business, Education, Engineering Law, Medicine, and Nursing programs are evaluated each year, while others are evaluated and ranked less frequently.

The U-M Law School and Medical School do not participate in the U.S. News Graduate Program Rankings.

 

The university is ranked 21st globally according to a list of global universities published by the U.S. News & World Report.

12.1.3 U.S. News & World Report Rankings of Best Global Universities, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Harvard University 1 1 1 1 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2 2 2 2 2
Stanford University 3 3 3 3 3
University of California-Berkeley 4 4 4 5 6
University of Washington-Seattle Campus 8 7 6 7 8
Yale University 11 12 11 10 9
Columbia University 6 6 7 9 10
University of California-Los Angeles 13 14 14 11 13
Johns Hopkins University 10 9 10 13 14
University of Pennsylvania 14 13 15 14 15
Cornell University 22 22 21 19 16
Princeton University 11 16 16 18 16
University of California-San Francisco 15 11 16 15 16
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 17 19 19 19 21
Northwestern University 24 24 24 24 24
University of Chicago 15 15 22 25 26
Duke University 23 23 25 26 27
Washington University in St Louis 33 31 32 30 31
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 36 39 41 47 51
The University of Texas at Austin 38 43 43 56 65
Ohio State University 45 52 55 61 66
Emory University 71 74 72 63 69
University of Wisconsin-Madison 41 52 63 74 72
University of Southern California 70 70 80 79 77
Georgia Institute of Technology 66 58 51 70 79
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 60 72 74 100 109
Carnegie Mellon University 94 102 118 134 126
University of Virginia 109 110 119 125 137

   SOURCE: U.S. News & World Report, Best Global Universities

Eight years ago, U.S. News & World Report added a global university comparison to its stable of rankings. The current list of 2,250 institutions concentrates on schools’ academic research and reputation overall as well as location, campus culture, strength of particular programs, and cost, according to the publisher.

For the global ranking, U.S. News starts with data from the Clarivate global reputation survey, which represent 25% of a school’s ranking score. Other items in the formula include adjusted counts of published scholarly papers, books and conference proceedings (15%); several different categories based on citations of published materials (50%); and counts of international collaborations (10%).

 

Times Higher Education

The University is a top-25 institution globally according to the Times Higher Education ordered list.

12.2.1 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5 5 3 2 2
Princeton University 7 7 6 4 3
Harvard University 2 2 4 3 5
Stanford University 4 3 2 6 5
University of California-Berkeley 8 8 9 8 9
Yale University 9 9 10 10 10
University of Pennsylvania 13 14 16 14 14
University of Chicago 10 13 13 14 15
Johns Hopkins University 13 15 15 16 16
University of California-Los Angeles 20 21 18 18 18
Cornell University 22 20 20 20 18
Columbia University in the City of New York 11 11 17 18 20
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 24 23 23 22 23
Carnegie Mellon University 28 28 24 24 24
University of Washington-Seattle 29 26 25 25 25
Duke University 23 25 26 27 28
Northwestern University 24 26 28 31 30
Georgia Institute of Technology 45 38 36 40 41
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 48 48 42 46 41
University of Texas-Austin 47 50 52 50 50
University of Wisconsin-Madison 58 81 63 56 53
Washington University in St Louis 51 57 68 69 67
University of Southern California 63 65 74 72 73
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 52 69 72 70 78
Emory University 82 82 106 98 102
Ohio State University 85 112 99 116 108
University of Virginia 127 156 166 163 166

   SOURCE: Times Higher Education

Times Higher Education publishes two separate ordered lists based on two different methodologies. The 2025 World University Rankings (published as the 2026 edition) judged nearly 2,700 institutions on their teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and knowledge transfer. The World Reputation Rankings (see chart 12.2.2) is based on the results of an international, invitation-only survey sent to tens of thousands of experienced academics from around the world. The World University Rankings shown on this page employ 18 performance indicators in five groups: Teaching (worth 29.5% of the overall ranking score), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry income (4%).

 

The U-M is listed 18th in the world according to the most recent Times Higher Education list based on academic reputation.

12.2.2 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, U-M and Peers, 2020-2025

University 2020 2021 2022 2023 2025
Harvard University 1 1 1 1 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2 2 2 2 2
Stanford University 3 4 3 3 4
University of California-Berkeley 6 6 6 6 6
Princeton University 7 7 7 7 7
Yale University 8 8 8 9 9
University of California-Los Angeles 9 9 16 15 15
University of Chicago 12 11 17 17 16
Columbia University 14 12 15 16 17
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 15 16 18 18 18
Cornell University 25 22 23 22 20
University of Pennsylvania 20 19 22 23 22
Johns Hopkins University 19 20 20 20 23
University of Washington 29 28 24 26 26
Duke University 28 28 34 32 29
Carnegie Mellon University 36 32 31 29 31
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 32 37 30 32 31
The University of Texas at Austin 30 31 38 38 35
University of Wisconsin-Madison 33 35 61 39 38
Northwestern University 34 32 42 44 42
Georgia Institute of Technology 44 51 47 42 48
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 48 44 71 61 58
University of Southern California 61 61 81 91 87
Ohio State University 71 71 81 91 101
Washington University in St Louis 81 81 91 91 101
Emory University 126 91 151 151 151
University of Virginia 126 126 176 176 151

   SOURCE: Times Higher Education

The World Reputation Rankings (above) are based on subjective judgments collected from an invitation-only survey returned by nearly 39,000 academics from around the world for the 2025 edition, distributed to reflect the demographics of world scholarship.

The survey asks each respondent to name no more than 15 universities that he or she considers to be the “best.” The top 100 schools in the list are assembled based on the frequency that each institution is included on the respondents’ lists of best institutions in their fields.

The 2024 World Reputation Rankings are unavailable.

 

QS (Quacquarelli Symonds)

Michigan regularly scores highly based on the QS methodology, which attributes 80 percent of the score to a combination of academic reputation, citation frequency of faculty publications, and the student-faculty ratio.

12.3 QS World University Rankings, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1 1 1 1 1
Stanford University 3 3 5 6 3
Harvard University 5 5 4 4 5
University of Chicago 10 10 11 21 13
University of Pennsylvania 13 13 12 11 15
Cornell University 21 20 13 16 16
University of California-Berkeley 32 27 10 12 17
Yale University 14 18 16 23 21
Johns Hopkins University 25 24 28 32 24
Princeton University 20 16 17 22 25
Columbia University in the City of New York 19 22 23 34 38
Northwestern University 30 32 47 50 42
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 23 25 33 44 45
University of California-Los Angeles 40 44 29 42 46
Carnegie Mellon University 53 52 52 58 52
Duke University 52 50 57 61 62
University of Texas-Austin 67 72 58 66 68
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 82 85 64 69 70
University of Washington-Seattle 85 80 63 76 81
University of Wisconsin-Madison 75 83 102 116 110
Georgia Institute of Technology 88 88 97 114 123
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 100 102 132 155 140
University of Southern California 112 134 116 125 146
Washington University in St Louis 107 118 154 176 167
Emory University – 155 199 196 182
Ohio State University 120 140 151 208 190
University of Virginia-Main Campus 226 253 260 297 275

   SOURCE: Quacquarelli Symonds

The 2025 QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings (published as the 2026 edition) evaluated 8,467 universities from across the world. A school’s rank is based on an amalgamation of indicators obtained through a global survey and data collected about each institution.

The components and the weight for the 2025 ranking score are: academic reputation (30%); citations per faculty (20%); employer reputation (15%); employment outcomes (5%); faculty student ratio (10%); international faculty (5%); international research work (5%); international students (5%); and sustainability (5%).

 

ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities)

The U-M consistently appears among the top universities worldwide and in the top 10 of U.S. public universities in the ordered list published by ShanghaiRanking.

12.4 Academic Ranking of World Universities, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Harvard University 1 1 1 1 1
Stanford University 2 2 2 2 2
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4 3 3 3 3
University of California-Berkeley 5 5 5 5 5
Princeton University 6 6 6 7 7
Columbia University in the City of New York 8 8 8 8 8
University of Chicago 10 10 10 10 10
Yale University 11 11 11 11 11
Cornell University 12 12 12 12 12
University of Pennsylvania 15 15 14 14 15
University of California-Los Angeles 14 13 13 15 16
University of Washington-Seattle 19 17 18 18 17
Johns Hopkins University 16 14 16 17 19
Washington University in St Louis 23 27 25 23 27
Northwestern University 34 30 30 33 31
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 26 28 26 30 33
University of Wisconsin-Madison 31 33 35 36 36
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 29 29 31 35 39
Duke University 32 31 34 39 46
University of Texas-Austin 41 37 43 45 49
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 55 49 52 55 54
University of Southern California 61 53 58 62 69
Ohio State University 101-150 101-150 101-150 82 83
Carnegie Mellon University 97 101-150 101-150 101-150 101-150
Emory University 101-150 101-150 101-150 101-150 101-150
Georgia Institute of Technology 101-150 151-200 151-200 151-200 151-200
University of Virginia-Main Campus 151-200 201-300 201-300 201-300 201-300

   SOURCE: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is based on six numerical elements (listed with the percent weight of the element in parentheses): school alumni who have won Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals (10%), school faculty who have won Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals (20%), number of highly cited researchers in broad subject categories according to Clarivate (20%), number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science over the most recent five-year period (20%), number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index-Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index (20%), and per capita academic performance of an institution (10%), determined by adding the weighted scores of all of the other indicators and dividing the sum by the number of full-time equivalent academic staff. The most recent list ranks 2,500 institutions and publishes the best 1,000.

The University of Michigan ranking in particular reflects high scores on the elements that measure citations of articles by U-M faculty across all disciplines.

Data for public universities are shaded in yellow; private university data are shaded in blue.

 

Forbes

Michigan performs well according to the “return on investment” metrics that are the focus of Forbes America’s Top Colleges list.

12.5 Forbes America’s Top Colleges, U-M and Peers, 2021-2025

University 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6 1 4 3 1
Columbia University 5 5 6 6 2
Princeton University 3 4 1 1 3
Stanford University 4 2 3 2 4
University of California-Berkeley 1 3 5 5 5
Harvard University 7 15 9 8 6
Johns Hopkins University 37 18 13 12 8
Yale University 2 8 2 4 9
University of Pennsylvania 9 10 8 7 10
University of Chicago 23 20 28 14 13
Cornell University 13 16 12 10 14
University of California-Los Angeles 8 6 7 13 15
Northwestern University 10 11 18 11 16
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 22 25 23 29 21
Duke University 12 9 17 20 22
Washington University in St Louis 33 27 40 30 25
Emory University 35 31 66 33 27
University of Southern California 17 21 14 28 28
Georgia Institute of Technology 34 35 33 38 32
University of Virginia 30 29 29 34 34
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 28 28 32 31 35
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 31 34 30 40 38
Carnegie Mellon University 49 46 59 58 43
University of Texas-Austin 45 43 31 46 46
University of Washington-Seattle 27 33 26 44 50
Ohio State University 105 173 72 86 83
University of Wisconsin-Madison 59 49 39 50 53

   SOURCE: Forbes.com

America’s Top Colleges is a ranking of 495 colleges and universities (in 2024) published by Forbes. Forbes skipped a 2020 list in order to reevaluate the method it uses to put institutions in a particular order. Its new methodology attempts to look at the kind of students educated and whether a school is “accessible to those who can’t afford high sticker prices.” The major categories that affect rankings are alumni salary (20%), student debt (15%), return on investment (15%), graduation rate (15%), Forbes’ American Leaders list (15%), retention rate (10%) and academic success (10%).