The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has again named UMBC one of top universities in the nation and worldwide. The 2018 – 19 CWUR list features UMBC among the top 170 U.S. universities and in the top 3.5 percent of 18,000 global higher education institutions evaluated.

CWUR currently uses seven indicators to assess universities, including quality of education (alumni who have won major international awards), alumni employment (as CEOs of top companies worldwide), quality of faculty (faculty who have won major international awards), total research output, publications in top-tier journals, publications in highly influential journals, and research citations. Metrics relating to research now account for 70 percent of each university’s total score. UMBC performed particularly well in the area of publishing research in highly influential journals.

“I am pleased that this new ranking of UMBC recognizes the growing national and international reputation of our interdisciplinary research initiatives, which focus on cybersecurity, cognitive analytics, environmental sciences and life sciences, balanced by impactful scholarship in public policy and public humanities,” says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research.

U.S. institutions are well-represented in the 2018 – 19 ranking, taking 16 of the top 20 spots. Also highly ranked are universities in the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden.

In addition to the CWUR, UMBC has recently been listed as a Forbes Best Value College and Business First top public university. Earlier this spring, U.S. News Best Graduate Schools also recognized a dozen UMBC graduate programs, including nine programs honored for being within the top 100 in their fields.

Featured photo: UMBC graduate commencement ceremony, spring 2018; by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.