Driven by research excellence, UC Santa Cruz ranks among top 50 public universities

UC Santa Cruz is also within the top 100 public or private universities within the United States

Student at computer
UC Santa Cruz received particularly high marks for the quality of its faculty, the influence of its publications, and research citations.
Faculty members like Sandra Faber enable the campus to offer high-quality programs in a range of disciplines.

Driven by its top-notch faculty, UC Santa Cruz is among the top 50 public universities in the United States, according to the latest review by the Center for World University Rankings.

The rankings released Aug. 5 show that UC Santa Cruz is No. 45 among U.S. public universities, No. 78 among all U.S. higher education institutions, and No. 208 in the world.

UC Santa Cruz is committed to opening its doors to students with diverse backgrounds and providing them with the opportunity to pursue their education alongside renowned faculty members across academic disciplines.

“The high quality educational experience that UC Santa Cruz offers is directly related to the quality of our faculty, as recognized by this report,” Chancellor Cynthia K. Larive said. “Our ranking as a top 50 public US university places us among the best universities in the nation, and indeed the world.”

The Center for World University Rankings measures the quality of education and training of students, as well as the prestige of the faculty members and the quality of their research.

UC Santa Cruz received particularly high marks for the quality of its faculty, the influence of its publications, and research citations.

The ranking assesses the number of faculty members who have won prestigious awards, medals, and prizes covering virtually all academic disciplines. Several UC Santa Cruz faculty members received such honors in recent years.

Sandra Faber, professor emerita of astronomy and astrophysics, received the 2017 Gruber Cosmology Prize, recognizing her for a body of work that has helped establish many of the foundational principles underlying the modern understanding of the universe on the largest scales.

Harry Noller, the Sinsheimer Professor of Molecular Biology, won the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for revealing how the complex molecular machines called ribosomes translate genetic code and build the proteins in all living cells.

David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering and director of the Genomics Institute, received the 2015 Dan David Prize, a prestigious international award endowed by the Dan David Foundation and based at Tel Aviv University.

The outstanding strength and breadth of the UC Santa Cruz faculty enables the campus to offer high-quality programs in the humanities, arts, social sciences, engineering, and sciences.