Overview
Honors and rankings are one way to demonstrate the University’s performance. They reflect reputations and help to position the University nationally and internationally. This chapter first presents metrics of faculty awards and National Academy memberships. These represent some of the highest aspirations of research faculty, signaling noteworthy participation and contribution to research and scholarship in a particular area of expertise.
The University of California provides students across the economic spectrum with access to an educational and research environment comparable to the nation’s finest private institutions but on a significantly larger scale.
Universities are ranked in numerous ways, with publishers of rankings choosing criteria based on different audiences and different aims. U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) focuses on academic reputation, graduation rates, student selectivity, and financial resources to create its list of America’s Best Colleges. The Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks institutions around the globe, primarily using faculty research productivity. Additional rankings for UC campuses are available at the link in the section below. While recognizing that these rankings may be useful sources of information, UC does not endorse any particular ranking system nor does it have specific goals with respect to any of them.
UC faculty receive prestigious awards as leaders in their fields.
13.1.1 Nobel Prizes by campus affiliation
Seventy faculty and researchers affiliated with the University of California have won 71 Nobel Prizes.
Learn who UC's Nobel prize winners are at the UC Laureates website.
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Chemistry
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Economics
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Literature
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Medicine
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Physics
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Peace
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Berkeley/ Berkeley Lab
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10
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6
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1
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1
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9
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Irvine
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2
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|
|
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1
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Livermore Lab
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|
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|
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1
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UCLA
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3
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1
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1
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2
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Riverside
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1
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|
|
|
1
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San Diego
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5
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3
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6
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2
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1
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San Francisco
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|
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6
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Santa Barbara
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2
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1
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|
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4
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Santa Cruz
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1 |
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13.1.2 Prizes, medals, and awards won by UC faculty
In addition to the prizes, medals, and awards presented in the chart above, many UC faculty are members of prestigious National Academies, providing leadership in service and general welfare to the nation.
National Academy of Sciences: 693
National Academy of Engineering: 285
National Academy of Medicine: 268
National Academy of Inventors: 123
Of the top ten national public universities in the U.S. News and World Report ranking, six are UC campuses and all nine undergraduate campuses are in the top fifty.
13.2.1 U.S. News: America’s Top National Public Universities, 2023
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Public
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National
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UCLA
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1*
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20*
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Berkeley
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1*
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20*
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Santa Barbara
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7
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32
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San Diego
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8*
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34*
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Irvine
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8*
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34*
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Davis
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10
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38
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Santa Cruz
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35
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83
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| Riverside |
38
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89
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Merced
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42
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97
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*tie
The U.S. News and World Report, in its 2023 national university rankings, focused on academic reputation, financial resources, and selectivity in undergraduate admissions. Its assessment on these metrics placed UC campuses among the very best public universities in the country:
Note: Numerical rankings can provide false precision based on very small actual differences among campuses. Campuses are first assigned a score, and the scores are ranked. When the scores are clustered closely, a small change in score can have a large effect on the rank.
Three campuses rank in the top ten among all public and private universities for social mobility.
13.2.2 U.S. News: Top Performers on Social Mobility, 2023
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Riverside
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2
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Merced
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5
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Irvine
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7
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Santa Barbara
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15
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Santa Cruz
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18
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Davis
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27
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UCLA
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46
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San Diego
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53
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Berkeley
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105
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The social mobility rankings are based on two ranking factors: Pell Grant graduation rates and how Pell Grant students graduate compared to those not receiving a Pell Grant.
The U.S. News website explains how the 2022-23 rankings were calculated.
Four UC campuses appear in the top 25 of the Academic Rankings of World Universities.
13.2.3 Shanghai Ranking Consultancy: Academic Rankings of World Universities, 2022
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Global
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National
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Berkeley
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5
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4
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UCLA
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13
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11
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UCSF
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19
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15
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San Diego
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21
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16
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Santa Barbara
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57
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32
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Irvine
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61
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33
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Davis
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101–150
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40–54
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Santa Cruz
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151–200
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55–62
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Riverside
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201–300
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63–85
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Merced
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401–500
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107–127
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The rankings are based entirely on measures of research strength and faculty honors and awards.
This ranking system emphasizes research outputs, such as total research expenditures. Because research outputs are not normalized by number of faculty, larger institutions tend to rank more highly than smaller ones. Institutions with strong research programs, especially in the sciences, also tend to score higher than those whose major strengths are in the humanities and social sciences.
13.2 RANKINGS
Washington Monthly ranked five UC campuses in the top 50 institutions.
13.2.4 Washington Monthly Research University Ranking, 2022
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National |
| Berkeley |
9 |
| Davis |
11 |
| San Diego |
20 |
| UCLA |
21 |
| Merced |
49 |
| Irvine |
56 |
| Santa Barbara |
66 |
| Riverside |
69 |
| Santa Cruz |
126 |
Washington Monthly ranks “National universities — four-year institutions that award a significant number of doctoral degrees — based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.”