Tucson Standard

The University of Arizona has been recognized in two international rankings as a top-25 U.S. public research institution. According to the Times Higher Education's World University Rankings 2025, the university tied for No. 136 globally, No. 45 in the U.S., and No. 22 among U.S. public colleges and universities. This marks a significant improvement from previous years, with a 19-spot increase from last year and a 44-spot increase from the 2023 ranking. Additionally, it ranked No. 14 among state flagship universities and No. 4 among Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

In this year's rankings, which included 2,092 universities from 115 countries and regions, the University of Arizona placed in the top 7% globally. The university achieved its highest scores in research quality (86.3 out of a possible 100) and industry engagement (81). It also ranked within the top 100 globally for physical sciences (tied for No. 65) and social sciences (No. 92).

University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella commented on these achievements: "As Arizona's flagship land-grant university, the U of A is dedicated to education that creates opportunity and innovation that tackles our society's most pressing challenges." He added that "the Times Higher Education ranking reflects our well-earned reputation for excellence and our strengths in areas of critical importance to the nation and world."

Times Higher Education has been assessing global colleges and universities for over two decades using various performance indicators across five categories: teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry income/patents (4%). This year's evaluation considered more than 157 million citations across over 18 million research publications along with survey responses from more than 93,000 scholars worldwide.

In addition to these accolades, Research.com improved its ranking of the University of Arizona by moving it up by 26 places compared to last year’s list in their Best Universities in the World compilation, placing it at No. 68 overall, No. 38 among U.S. universities, No. 20 among U.S public institutions, No.13 among state flagship universities, and No .6 among HSIs.

Elliott Cheu, interim senior vice president for research and innovation at the University of Arizona stated: "As the state's flagship research institution," they are committed to serving "the public good" through their land-grant mission while boasting accredited medical schools located both in Phoenix as well as Tucson." With annual research expenditures exceeding $955 million," they aim towards advancing knowledge alongside making transformational discoveries aimed at improving lives via innovative solutions addressing contemporary challenges."