Biological Sciences at UC San Diego Ranked 9th in World Survey

Students working in the lab

August 16, 2012

By Kim McDonald

The Division of Biological Sciences is ranked ninth in the world, according to the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities conducted by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The center evaluated more than 1,200 universities and published the top 500 on August 15. Universities were ranked by several indicators of academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, papers published in Nature and Science, papers indexed in major citation indices and the per capita academic performance of an institution.

"These rankings provide unequivocal validation of the commitment we have made to faculty quality and top research programs," said Steve Kay, dean of the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego. "They are a clear example of our standing as a world-class Division of Biological Sciences and complement the number one ranking from the National Research Council that we received last year for our graduate program."

As a campus, University of California, San Diego is ranked the 15th best university in world.

"It's an honor for UC San Diego to be recognized as a global model of academic excellence," said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.  "This ranking is a testament to the extraordinary achievements of our outstanding faculty, dedicated staff, high-caliber students and successful alumni."

Other UC San Diego subject field rankings include natural sciences and mathematics (20), engineering (12), clinical medicine and pharmacy (21), social science (25), mathematics (25), chemistry (13), computer science (14) and economics (17).

For more information on the Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, go to shanghairanking.com.