U.S. News this week released its annual list ranking 1,750 universities throughout the world.

J. Ryne Danielson,Patch.com Staff | October 26, 2021

Eleven colleges and universities in Illinois have been named among the best in the world, according to a new ranking by U.S. News & World Report. Three Illinois schools ranked in the top 100.

The publication on Tuesday released its 2022 Best Global Universities list, which ranks more than 1,700 schools in dozens of countries based on academic research and reputation.

Overall, more than 90 countries are represented on the 2022 list.

“These rankings stand out from our other education rankings due to their emphasis on academic research,” Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, said in a news release. The rankings help provide “even more information for prospective students interested in schools where research is a top priority.”

At the top of the list, the University of Chicago ranked 15th in the world. The private research University in Hyde Park played a key role in the development of modern nuclear physics (as well as chemistry, archaeology, political science and other disciplines) and today houses the world-famous Fermilab particle physics laboratory. U of C was followed by Northwestern University at No. 24 and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at No. 72.

Here’s the complete list of Illinois schools to make the cut:

• No. 15: University of Chicago, Chicago
• No. 24: Northwestern University, Evanston
• No. 72: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign
• No. 227: University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago
• No. 461: Rush University, Chicago
• No. 729: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago
• No. 840: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
• No. 861: Loyola University Chicago, Chicago
• No. 1,061: Southern Illinois University–Carbondale, Carbondale
• No. 1422: DePaul University, Chicago
• No. 1423: Illinois State University, Normal

This year’s list ranked 1,750 schools, up from 1,500 last year.

Colleges in the United States secured four of the top five spots on the 2022 list. Harvard University came in at No. 1, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley at Nos. 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Rounding out the top five is the United Kingdom’s University of Oxford.

At 271, the United States has the most universities in the overall ranking, followed by:

• China: 253
• Japan: 93
• United Kingdom: 89
• Germany: 70

To determine which schools make the list, U.S. News analyzes data and metrics provided by global analytics company Clarivate, including student-to-faculty ratio and number of degrees awarded.

Researchers then weigh factors that measure a university’s global and regional research reputation, as well as academic research performance. The overall ranking includes indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration. Each subject ranking has its own methodology based on academic research performance in that specific area.

Read more about the Best Global Universities methodology.

U.S. News also added five additional subject metrics for 2022, according to a release, including condensed matter physics, food science and technology, optics, physical chemistry, and polymer science.

Best Global Universities is one of several post-secondary education rankings published by U.S. News annually. The publication also releases Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs to help students navigate higher education options.