UC Berkeley Ranks No. 7 Globally, Tops U.S. Public Universities in 2026 U.S. News List
Updated
Updated · UC Berkeley · Jun 15
UC Berkeley Ranks No. 7 Globally, Tops U.S. Public Universities in 2026 U.S. News List
3 articles · Updated · UC Berkeley · Jun 15
Summary
U.S. News placed UC Berkeley seventh worldwide in its 2026 Best Global Universities rankings, making it the highest-ranked U.S. public university and the nation's No. 4 research university overall.
The ranking assessed 2,250 institutions across 105 countries using 13 measures, including global and research reputation and the volume of highly cited scholarly papers.
Berkeley has held the top U.S. public-university spot in the global list since it began in 2014; UCLA was the next-highest public university this year at No. 11.
Subject rankings reinforced Berkeley's research strength, with top-five global placements in physics at No. 3, biology and biochemistry at No. 4, economics and business at No. 4, environment/ecology at No. 4, and space science at No. 5.
The latest result adds to Berkeley's broader 2026 recognition after U.S. News named it the top public U.S. institution in its Best Colleges list released in September.