The UC Davis mascot Gunrock flexing at an athletics event
Rankings
Blue stylized frog graphic standing upright with raised arms

A top tier public university

UC Davis is a tier one research university. Several of our programs are among the best in the country and have been for decades. We hope you will help us continue this legacy and solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.
View our admission statistics More about UC Davis

Our rankings

1
Ranked No. 1 nationally in agriculture and forestry
1
Ranked No. 1 nationally in veterinary medicine
1
Ranked No. 1 nationally in campus sustainability
2
Ranked No. 2 nationally for social mobility
2
Ranked No. 2 nationally for graduate financial success
9
Ranked No. 9 nationally among public universities
1
Ranked No. 1 nationally for diversity, inclusiveness and internationalization
8
Ranked No. 8 nationally for making an impact
11
Ranked No. 11 nationally for best university in America, by value

How we rank

UC Davis is highly ranked in the nation and the world, according to influential university ranking publications like U.S. News & World Report (national and global), QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and The Princeton Review.

The Wall Street Journal recognized UC Davis as the fifth-best public university in the United States in its 2022 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. 

Washington Monthly magazine ranked UC Davis second nationally among Affordable Elite Colleges in 2019. 

A female student holding a baby goat

World’s No. 2 in veterinary science

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022
A female student investigates specimens from a tide pool

2nd nationally in ecology and evolutionary biology

U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 “America’s Best Graduate Schools”
Students and professor gather around an ag patch

3rd nationally in biological and agricultural engineering

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2022
The incoming female class of the UC Davis medical school

3rd nationally in medical school diverse student body

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A professor and his students stand near a solar array

World’s No. 6 in environmental engineering

ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021 — Environmental Science & Engineering
A doctor shows a patient test results

Ranked 5th nationally in family medicine

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A smiling doctor

Ranked 6th nationally in primary care

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A male student 'plays house' with two children

Ranked 9th nationally in developmental psychology

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A male student wearing a virtual reality headset, explores a virtual world set up as a psychological experiment

Ranked 11th nationally in cognitive psychology

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
two females students laugh while studying on a couch

Ranked 12th nationally in psychology

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A female student attends office hours with her professor with a bicycle in the background

Ranked 13th nationally in statistics

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
Engineering students working on a bridge project

Ranked 9th nationally in civil engineering

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A student working on a painting

Ranked 15th nationally in fine arts

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
Two female students examine a petri dish

Ranked 17th nationally in biological sciences

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
Two UC Davis professors hold dinosaur fossils

Ranked 14th nationally in earth sciences

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2022
A medical student poses outside of the UC Davis medical center

Ranked 29th nationally in public health

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A female nurse gives a vaccination to another female

Ranked 24th nationally in master's nursing programs

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024
A student stands in front of a city building

Ranked 25th nationally in political science

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Political Science Schools” 2024
Exterior of King Hall the home of UC davis law school

Ranked 19th nationally in constitutional law

U.S. News & World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools” 2024