U.S. News & World Report has ranked the University of Alabama at Birmingham No. 162 among its 2017 Best Global Universities, which evaluated 1,000 universities across 65 countries. UAB is ranked No. 67 among U.S. universities and is the top-ranked global university in Alabama by more than 250 spots.
Earlier this year, UAB was ranked No. 147 in the world and No. 1 in Alabama by the Center for World University Rankings.
“UAB has long been recognized in certain circles — particularly in health care — as a world leader,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts. “These now-consistent recognitions on a global scale point to our growing prominence as a comprehensive research university and are a testament to the impactful work our students, faculty and staff are doing across every corner of campus.”
U.S. News slightly adjusted its overall methodology this year to further emphasize excellence in academic research by factoring in the total number of highly cited papers in the top 1 percent of their respective fields and the percentage of a university’s total papers that are among the top 1 percent of most-cited papers. UAB had a normalized citation impact rank of No. 68 globally, and ranked No. 101 in percentage of highly cited papers that are among the top 1 percent most cited, No. 124 in the number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1 percent most cited, and No. 109 in percentage of total publications that are among the 10 percent most cited.
The Best Global Universities methodology — which is based on Web of Science data and metrics provided by Clarivate Analytics InCitesTM — weighs factors that measure a university’s global and regional research reputation and academic research performance using bibliometric indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration. Each subject ranking has its own methodology based on academic research performance and reputation in that specific area.
“For over 30 years, U.S. News has helped students better understand the range of college options available to them in the United States,” said Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News. “We take the same in-depth approach in our Best Global Universities to help students understand their college options worldwide.”