U-M continues to be one of the top public universities in the world, according to two rankings released last week.
U-M is listed as the top U.S. public university in the QS World Rankings for 2012, and is ranked 17th among all institutions worldwide. The university ranked 14th in the 2011 survey.
The university also continues to rank near the top in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best undergraduate colleges and universities.
U-M maintained its ranking as the No. 4 public university and was ranked No. 29 among the nation’s best national universities, down one spot from last year.
While university officials are pleased that U-M consistently is ranked as one of the nation’s finest universities, they also note that this type of strict ranking of universities is not the most accurate measure of the quality of an institution of higher education.
The QS World University Rankings, launched in 2004, are based on six factors: academic reputation, employer reputation, student/faculty ratio, citations per faculty, proportion of international faculty and proportion of international students.
The United States again had the most universities of any nation on the list with 54, while 30 were from the United Kingdom and 11 were in Germany.
In the U.S. News rankings, UM-Dearborn was rated among the best regional universities in the Midwest. It was ranked No. 33, up from No. 34 last year, and is still the highest-rated Michigan public institution among regional universities.
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business undergraduate program remains No. 3 nationally, tied with University of California-Berkeley, and is among the top five schools in four specialties: finance (5th), management (1st), marketing (2nd) and production/operations (5th).
The College of Engineering undergraduate program ranks No. 7 nationally, down from No. 6. In specialty rankings, engineering is among the top five in five specialty areas: aerospace engineering (3nd), environmental/environmental health (5th), industrial/manufacturing (2nd), materials (4th) and mechanical (4th).
Among regional universities, the engineering program at the UM-Dearborn was tied with nine other schools at No. 35, down from No. 27 last year.
U-M also was recognized for a number of programs that lead to student success, including first-year experience, learning communities, service learning and undergraduate research and creative projects.
A new peer assessment survey also ranked U-M No. 6 nationally, highlighting its strong commitment to teaching.
U-M officials add that what matters most in choosing a school is the match between the particular interests, abilities, and ambitions of each student with the specific programs, approaches and opportunities offered by a particular school.
To view the full QS rankings, go to: www.topuniversities.com.
To view the U.S News & World Report rankings, go to: www.usnews.com.
