Updated July 14: The following release has been updated to reflect a better overall ranking of 118th and placement in the top 8% universities in the world after QS made a correction of faculty and student numbers.

The University of California, Davis, ranks in the top 8% of universities worldwide in the 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings released today (June 27).

The campus ranks fifth in the nation and 16th in the world in the new sustainability indicator evaluating the university’s social and environmental impact. It accounts for 5% of the overall ranking. QS split the measures into environmental sustainability – including sustainable institutions, sustainable education and sustainable research – and social impact, which includes equality, knowledge exchange, educational impact, employability and opportunities, and quality of life.

Worldwide, UC Davis was tied for 118th overall among 2,963 institutions analyzed and 1,498 with published rankings.

The QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) rankings take into account factors including reputation among academics and employers, ratios of international faculty and international students, research citations and the overall faculty-to-student ratio.

UC Davis and rankings

A world-class university, UC Davis is highly ranked for how it transforms students’ lives, the impact of its research, the excellence of its academic programs, sustainability and more. See highlights on our rankings page. The university performs self-evaluations and also appreciates the value of third-party assessments. However, ranking methods vary, change over time and can be subjective. UC Davis focuses on those rankings that most closely align with its mission and values — including serving the public good, inclusiveness and equity, and social mobility — and in national rankings looks most closely at its standing among public universities. UC Davis encourages prospective students and their families to weigh rankings among other factors in their college decision, talk with counselors and UC Davis admissions advisors, and, if possible, visit the campus.