The University of California, Davis, is third in the nation among public universities and 12th among all universities for how well it sets its graduates up for financial success in the WSJ/College Pulse rankings released today (Sept. 5).

The rankings, from The Wall Street Journal and its research partners College Pulse and Statista, consider how much a school improves students’ chances of graduating and their future earnings with results from student and alumni surveys on college life and diversity. The rankings no longer measure reputation or the college’s own finances.

The greatest weight, at 70%, is for student outcomes including:

• how a college boosts its graduates’ salaries beyond what they would be expected to be regardless of which college they attended (33%)
• the time it takes to pay off the net price of attending the college (17%)
• how well a college ensures that its students graduate (20%)

Using two surveys of nearly 112,100 students and alumni, the rankings give 20% to the learning environment, or 4% each, to learning opportunities, preparation for career, satisfaction with learning-related facilities, the extent to which students would recommend their college, and — new this year — the extent to which students feel the college develops character strengths.

Diversity counts for 10% including opportunities to interact with students from different backgrounds (5%) and 1.7% each for ethnic diversity, the proportion of students receiving Pell Grants, and inclusion of students with disabilities.

Also recently, Niche ranked UC Davis13th among the best public universities in the nation as well as fifth among all universities for its campus and eighth for its food.

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, sustainability and more. The university performs self-evaluations and 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.

About UC Davis

Located near the California state capital, UC Davis is a public land-grant university and Tier 1 research university. It is one of the 10 campuses in the UC system. The university has an annual research budget of more than $1 billion, a comprehensive health system and about two dozen specialized research centers. With more than 40,000 students, it offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and interdisciplinary graduate study in four colleges and six professional schools.