The University of California, Davis, continues to be recognized for its global leadership in the fields of veterinary science, and agriculture and forestry, in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, released today (April 10).

Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, considered one of the most influential international authorities on university rankings, placed UC Davis second in the world in both subjects. The campus was also first in the nation in the two.

Since veterinary science was added to the rankings in 2015, UC Davis has been first in the world five times and is No. 2 for a fifth time. The campus was No. 1 in agriculture and forestry in the first three years the subject was ranked and has held the No. 2 spot since 2016. 

UC Davis was ranked 35th in the world in the broad category of the life sciences and medicine. The campus was also ranked in each of the other broad categories of the rankings: natural sciences; engineering and technology; arts and humanities; and social sciences and management.

In addition to being top-ranked in veterinary science and agriculture and forestry, the university had top-50 rankings in five other subjects:

• environmental sciences, 23rd
• geophysics, tied for 42nd
• biological sciences, 43rd
• geology, tied for 47th
• development studies, tied for 49th

“These rankings underscore that UC Davis is the global leader in veterinary science and agriculture,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “They also show that the campus provides a world-class education across academic disciplines, while conducting impactful research that advances understanding and solutions to the planet’s most pressing challenges.”

The rankings consider reputation among academics; reputation among employers; the citations and impact of academic papers from a university; and the diversity of a university’s international research network. In all, the 2024 rankings analyzed programs in 55 subjects at 4,982 institutions and ranked 1,559 universities across the world. This year, QS did not provide national rankings.

The School of Veterinary Medicine, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023-24, has more than 700 students pursuing the doctor of veterinary medicine and other professional and graduate degrees, and offers the nation’s largest veterinarian house officer program with more than 40 specialties. The school’s hospital treats more than 50,000 patients each year, and more than $64 million in annual research funding to the school is applied to benefit animal, human and planetary health.

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has more than 7,600 undergraduates in 27 majors and 1,030 graduate students in 22 graduate groups and programs. The college’s researchers receive more than $165 million in research funding. UC Davis is among the most published and cited U.S. research universities in agricultural sciences, animal science and plant sciences, environment and ecology, food science and nutrition, and soil sciences.

UC Davis and rankings

A world-class university, UC Davis is highly ranked for how it transforms students’ lives, the impact of its research, the excellence of its academic programs, its sustainability and more. The university performs self-evaluations and also appreciates the value of third-party assessments. However, ranking methods vary, change over time and can be subjective. UC Davis focuses on those rankings that most closely align with its mission and values — including serving the public good, inclusiveness and equity, and social mobility — and in national rankings looks most closely at its standing among public universities. UC Davis encourages prospective students and their families to weigh rankings among other factors in their college decision, talk with counselors and UC Davis admissions advisors, and, if possible, visit the campus.