UB ranked among the best U.S. universities

BUFFALO, N.Y. –The University at Buffalo is ranked No. 46 among all U.S. universities in the QS World University Rankings: USA, an inaugural ranking of America’s top colleges and universities.

Among public universities in the U.S., UB is ranked No. 16; among all New York State universities, UB is ranked sixth.

The rankings were produced by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education research company and publisher of QS World University Rankings.

The rankings are designed to assess how well universities are responding to the social, intellectual and economic challenges of our time. They focus on diversity and internationalization inputs – the percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants, gender diversity and the percentage of international students. They also focus on outputs, such as alumni outcomes, graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients and Fulbright students studying abroad.

Universities were evaluated according to 17 metrics falling into four broad groupings: diversity and internationalization; research; learning experience; and employability outcomes.

UB success in the rankings’ metrics is well documented.

Diversity and internationalization

For the 17th straight year, UB, at 15%, remained in the top 25 of national universities with a proportion of international students ranked by the Institute of International Education in the institute’s most recent Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.

A campus ethnic diversity index of .58 also places UB high on the list of national universities supporting strong commitments to enhance institutional transformation, diversity and inclusion across their campus.

Research

Nationally renowned for research and scholarship, UB’s annual research expenditures total more than $400 million. UB most recently received a five-year Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) of $21.7 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue Buffalo’s rapid trajectory growing its health care and research sectors.

The award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the NIH was in recognition of the dramatic progress UB and its partners have made since 2015, when UB first received the CTSA. The new CTSA grant provides continued support for this highly successful program to train faculty from UB and partners to become future leaders in the field.

UB was also awarded a $6.2 million extension for the university's involvement with the Women’s Health Initiative, a groundbreaking, federally funded study that has yielded major discoveries on chronic diseases that affect postmenopausal women.

The initiative is the largest longitudinal study of women’s health in the United States.

Learning experience

Reflecting the overall learning environment provided by UB to its students, the university has designed UB Curriculum, an innovative, student-centered general education program; enhanced its Honors College; and expanded opportunities for global education, internships, entrepreneurial and clinical opportunities.

In addition, UB launched Finish in 4, a program that provides students with the resources they need to graduate on time.

UB’s four-year graduation rate of 60% is nearly double the national average; the graduation rate for Finish in 4 participants is 63%.

Employability

Among employers annually represented at recruiting events sponsored by UB’s Office of Career Services are Bloomberg, Google, General Mills, H2M Architects, Moog, M&T Bank, Praxair, Global Foundries and GEICO.

Additionally, 94% of UB graduates are employed two years after graduation; 92% are employed six years after graduation.