August 22, 2008

U.S. News Ranks UC Santa Barbara Among Country's Best Universities

Paul Desruisseaux

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Santa Barbara number 12 in its annual listing of the "Top 50 Public National Universities" in the country and number 44 on its list of the "Best National Universities."

Private institutions tend to dominate the "Best National Universities" list. This year they hold the top 20 places, led by three Ivy League universities: Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. UC Berkeley is the highest-ranked public institution on that list, at number 21. UCSB is tied with two other UC campuses, Davis and Irvine, among both the best national universities and the top public institutions.

The magazine has just released its annual college rankings online at USNews.com. Highlights of the rankings will be published in the September 1 issue of U.S. News & World Report, available on newsstands Monday, August 25. The 2009 edition of the magazine's annual guidebook, "America's Best Colleges," will be available on Tuesday, August 26.

To rank colleges and universities, U.S. News & World Report assigns institutions to categories developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. UC Santa Barbara's category, the national universities, includes only institutions that emphasize faculty research and offer a full range of undergraduate majors plus master's degree and Ph.D. programs.

U.S. News collects data directly from colleges and universities as well as from other sources. This year, the magazine reported that 91.4 percent of the 1,476 colleges and universities it surveyed responded to its request for statistical information. The magazine evaluates and analyzes data on various indicators of academic quality and assigns a weight to each factor based on its relative importance. It then tabulates composite scores and ranks institutions against others in the same peer group.

UCSB's rank among public universities was one place higher than last year. While its number 44 ranking on the list of all national universities, public and private, was the same as last year, the magazine's statistical tables showed improvements in UCSB's scores in several areas, including graduation and retention rates, financial resources, faculty resources, and alumni giving.

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.