The University of California San Diego has remained at No. 4 among U.S. public universities in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The highly regarded annual assessment released by the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy also places UC San Diego 14th among all U.S. universities and 20th in the world.
“To be recognized among the top public universities in the nation, and among the best universities in the world, is a reflection of what makes UC San Diego truly exceptional – the brilliance and dedication of our faculty, students and alumni,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “The Academic Ranking of World Universities measures the very things we hold central to our mission – the quality of our scholarship, the reach of our research and the achievements of our alumni community. Year after year, our community continues to meet the standard, advancing knowledge that addresses the world's greatest challenges and creating opportunity for generations to come.”
Each year, the ARWU evaluates more than 2,500 institutions and publishes only the top 1,000. Universities are ranked by several academic and research performance indicators, including the number of alumni and faculty who have been awarded Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals; recognitions of highly cited researchers; papers published in the journals Nature and Science; articles in leading citation indices; and the per-capita academic performance.
UC San Diego’s standing in the ARWU reflects the extraordinary caliber of scholars — faculty and alumni — whose work is recognized at the highest levels of academic and scientific achievement.