UCLA Again Ranks 2nd Among Public Universities Worldwide

By UCLA Today staff writers

In rankings released this week by Washington Monthly, UCLA took its place as first in community service participation and third overall among national universities. The publication rates schools based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, which is defined as recruiting and graduating low-income students; research; and service, in which community service participation is one measure.
 
“Colleges should be judged not just on who they enroll and how many graduate but on what students do with their lives after they leave,” Washington Monthly stated in releasing its rankings.
 
The annual Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, which includes both public and private universities, once again places UCLA as the second-ranked public university (13th overall) in the world, with UC Berkeley as first among publics (2nd overall).

In the U.S. News & World Report Best College rankings  of national universities, UCLA ranked second among public universities and 25th overall. Elite public universities tended to slip in these rankings relative to privates.
 
National universities are generally considered those that offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral degrees.
 
The methodology and criteria utilized in the rankings vary. Washington Monthly focuses on social mobility and public service, while Shanghai Jiao Tong University tends to focus more on measures of excellence that include faculty citations, honors and awards and the success of faculty in attracting research grants and contracts. U.S. News & World Report places more emphasis on factors that tend to favor private universities, such percent of alumni who donate.

"UCLA is by any measure among the nation’s leading universities,” Chancellor Gene Block said. “Having said that, we are especially proud this year to be singled out by Washington Monthly for our strong commitment to community service.  A third of our undergraduates participate in some form of community service, from tutoring young people to combating poverty and homelessness and providing legal, social, medical or educational assistance to others.”
 
In all, eight UC campuses are included in USN&WR's rankings. Of them, five are ranked among the top 10 public universities in the U.S. — Berkeley (1st), UCLA (2nd), San Diego (7th) and Davis and Santa Barbara (tied for 9th).
 
Among the other U.S. public universities in Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s top 25 are UC San Diego (14th) and UC San Francisco (18th).