The University of California, Davis, is No. 10 among the nation’s top public universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, published today (Oct. 9).

UC Davis was tied for 62nd among nearly 2,100 universities in the world and 26th among all American universities. Data was collected on almost 2,900 institutions.

The rankings evaluate universities against 18 performance indicators in the five areas of teaching, a measure of the learning experience and quality (29.5%); research environment or the quality and quantity of research output based on reputation, research income and productivity (29%); research quality or influence (30%); industry or how much the university earns from its inventions and industrial work (4%); and international outlook, based on the international-to-domestic ratios across staff, students and research collaborations (7.5%)

It is the latest example of how UC Davis continues to score high in the most prestigious college rankings for its quality of education, impact of its research and the social mobility it offers students.

In other major rankings released since late August:

• U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Colleges rankings recognized UC Davis  as No. 9 among the nation’s top public universities. It is the fourth consecutive year the campus has been ranked among the media outlet’s top 10 public universities. For the past 10 years, it has been among the top 12.
• The WSJ/College Pulse rankings named UC Davis third in the nation among public universities and 12th among all universities for how well it sets graduates up for financial success. 
• In the Washington Monthly 2024 College Rankings, UC Davis took the No. 11 spot among public universities.
• The campus was seventh in the Top 20 Best Schools for Making an Impact in Princeton Review’s The Best 390 Colleges — 2025 edition.

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 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.