UB civil engineering, dental programs among top 10 in nation, top 15 worldwide, according to Shanghai rankings

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and the School of Dental Medicine were ranked Nos. 5 and 9, respectively, in the U.S. in the 2018 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.

Globally, the schools were ranked Nos. 12 and 11, respectively, among civil engineering and dentistry and oral sciences programs. This is the second consecutive year both UB programs have ranked within the top 20 globally and inside the top 10 nationally.

The Global Ranking of Academic Subjects is regarded as one of the most prestigious and influential global rankings. The rankings are largely based on university research outcomes, and institutions are scored on the number of articles published in influential academic journals, the impact and citation of research, the amount of prestigious scientific awards presented to faculty and the volume of international collaboration on research.

“We are excited to be recognized in this way for our faculty’s accomplishments,” says Joseph Atkinson, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. “This is encouraging news as we continue to look at new ways to collaborate and maintain our place as a top research department.”

The Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering rose this year in the rankings from a placement of No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 16 globally in 2017. The rise can be attributed to an increase in the number of papers published by UB faculty in top academic journals, a criteria for which the department received the highest score among the 300 institutions ranked in civil engineering.

The School of Dental Medicine maintained its placement in 2018, last year ranking No. 9 in the nation and No. 11 worldwide. This year, the school received the second-highest score for publishing impactful, highly-cited research.

“For the second year in a row, our School of Dental Medicine has been ranked No. 9 among dental schools in the United States and No. 11 in the world according to the 2018 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects; Dentistry & Oral Sciences developed by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy,” says Joseph J. Zambon, DDS, PhD, dean of the School of Dental Medicine.

“This high standing is particularly meaningful to us as this global ranking focuses on research. Research has been a longstanding strength of both the School of Dental Medicine and the University at Buffalo — a major public research institution in the SUNY system. This is a reflection of the outstanding efforts in a variety of research areas by our faculty, students and staff.”

Other UB programs that received a top placement in their field include the Department of Communication, which ranked No. 28 in the U.S. and No. 35 worldwide; and the Department of Library and Information Studies, which ranked No. 31 in the U.S. and No. 47 worldwide.

Additional UB programs that ranked within the top 100 include:

• The Graduate School of Education ranked within Nos. 51-75 globally.
• The School of Nursing ranked within Nos. 76-100 globally.
• The Department of Computer Science and Engineering ranked within Nos. 76-100 globally.

Although UB does not have a telecommunication engineering department, researchers from numerous departments study this field. As a result, the university was ranked within Nos. 76-100 globally in telecommunication engineering for the strength of its faculty research and publications in the field.

More than 4,000 universities are ranked in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects in categories that span the natural, life, medical and social sciences and engineering.