UC Berkeley upheld its title as the No. 1 public university in North America once again, according to the Times Higher Education yearly report, a distinction it has held for 11 of the past 12 years.
The report, which came out Sept. 30, also has UC Berkeley tied with Yale University for the No. 9 best university worldwide. This ranking is just the latest to give UC Berkeley the No. 1 public university spot, following both Forbes’ and U.S. News & World Report’s rankings.
UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said in an email it was great to see the university receive the ranking, and that it shows UC Berkeley is “clearly the top public research university.”
“UC Berkeley provides the nation and world with groundbreaking research while also providing students with a world-class education,” Gilmore said in an email. “And Berkeley is a powerful engine of economic mobility.”
Times Higher Education’s ranking methodology is based on five core pillars: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.
UC Berkeley’s overall score was 94.3, with teaching receiving a score of 87.4, research environment at 99.4, research quality at 98.3, industry at 99.2 and international outlook at 83.2.
“It puts this expectation that I’m getting a world-class education,” said campus student Linel See. “And with that I can have a world-class degree and world-class connections.”
Another student, Ronnalyn Liwanag, shared a similar sentiment, believing that rankings are important for future recruiters.
However, Liwanag also believes that college, no matter the ranking of the school, is a step in and of itself.
She spoke particularly to the support systems that UC Berkeley has and how they have helped her.
“There’s so many support systems, whether that be for you as a first-generation student, or career development … or mental health, et cetera. We have all of those here on campus which I feel like have helped me personally,” Liwanag said.