List of websites for US University rankings and how to use rankings to decide US Universities for higher education


This article will provide all the websites which provide accurate rankings of all Universities in the world for education. How to browse the rankings information is mentioned in this article. Read on for more

Websites for rankings of Universities for higher education in US and rest of the world
  1. www.arwu.org - The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is one of the most popular rankings publication which compares Universities all across the world. The rankings are mostly based on research grants, research projects and faculty credentials and the focus of the rankings is towards research. It is published and compiled by Shanghai Jiaotong University since 2003
  2. www.topuniversities.com – The QS World University rankings was publishing world University rankings since 2004 in collaboration with Times Higher Education. These rankings follow a method devised by Quacquarelli Symonds. Following indicators are used in this method as follows: Academic peer review, Recruiter review, faculty student ratio, citations per faculty and international orientation. In 2009, the collaboration ended with Times Higher education following a different ranking mechanism for world Universities. QS World University rankings are still published following the old mechanism devised by QS.
  3. www.timeshighereducation.co.uk – As mentioned before, Times Higher Education group ended the collaboration with QS World University rankings and started using their independent method since 2009. The method used for these rankings are more practical and rank the Universities based on the performance and output rather than just reputation. Most other rankings are based on the reputation and reviews provided by peers and faculty around the world. Some of the indicators used in these rankings are as follows: Industry income, international diversity, teaching, research and research influence.
  4. www.usnews.com/education - Published by the magazine US News and World Report, these are the most popular rankings used by students for selecting US Universities for higher education. But for the past few years, these rankings have been criticised for providing controversial rankings and the reports mostly focus on the reputation and income instead of the quality of teaching and overall quality of education imparted. Nevertheless, these rankings are the mostly referred rankings for selection of US Universities by students everywhere in the world.

Types of rankings of US Universities in US News & World Report website
  1. High School Rankings – As the name suggests, these rankings are a compilation of the best high schools in US. Applicants applying for higher education in US need not check these rankings.
  2. College rankings – These rankings include rankings of Universities, Colleges and Schools in US up to undergraduate studies. These rankings do not take into consideration the graduate school. All the statistical data used are up to undergraduate studies. Applicants applying for higher education in US need not check these rankings.
  3. National University Rankings – These rankings provide a comparison of the National Universities in US, again up to undergraduate studies only. Applicants applying for higher education in US might simply browse through the list for a comparison of Universities at national level.
  4. Grad School General Rankings – US News & World Report website publishes general rankings for Grad Schools in US. These general rankings are a comparative study of the quality of education imparted by these Universities and reputation of the Universities in higher education sector of graduate studies in US. . Applicants applying for higher education in US might simply browse through the list for a comparison of Universities for graduate studies.
  5. Grad School Program Specific Rankings – US News & World Report website publishes program specific rankings for Grad Schools in US. These program specific rankings are a comparative study of the quality of education imparted by these Universities for that particular degree program and field of specialisation and also reputation of the Universities in higher education sector of graduate studies in US. These are the most important rankings that you must focus and use to decide your Universities for higher education.

Which rankings to use for selecting US Universities for higher education
There are a number of different ranking mechanisms by US News and World report as mentioned above. You need not go through all those rankings. The general rankings provide graduate degree programs in various fields such as social sciences, education, engineering, medicine, law, library, health and fine arts. If a University doesn’t have good quality education in field, the general rankings come down significantly. Hence, it is not advisable to refer to the general rankings of grad schools provided by US News and World Report. You can browse for the field of education rankings – for e.g. engineering rankings of top US Universities. But again, these rankings consider all engineering departments like Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil and others. Hence, if some University doesn’t perform well in one of the fields, its rankings for engineering will come down. Hence, again one should be careful while using these rankings to shortlist your Universities.

The most relevant data can be found in degree specific rankings or department specific rankings provided by US News and World Report. This is the most reliable data and will help you shortlist a US University for higher education. We have made your job easier by compiling a list taken from these rankings most suitable for degree programs.

Compilation of rankings of US Universities according to degree programs
The following articles provide US Universities rankings for specific degree programs. The list is a compilation from US News website and can be used for shortlisting of US Universities for that particular degree program.