The University of California’s foundational missions are teaching, research, and public service. At UC Berkeley, we pursue these ends with guidance from our shared values — among them our Principles of Community and other distinctive elements that make Cal unique among our UC family.
Berkeley’s public reputation matters greatly to our ability to deliver on our mission. Accordingly, we take care to invest in and manage our reputation so that it accurately reflects Berkeley’s excellence; attracts the highest caliber students, faculty, and staff; and inspires more than 500,000 alums worldwide to continue giving back their time, treasure, and talent — all of which ensure that Berkeley keeps thriving.
Several publications put forth college rankings, and their methodologies differ. While each rubric has its own merits, no single rubric accounts for every trait that being a “top university” requires. Calculating a weighted average across numerous rankings can paint a more robust, holistic picture of a university’s stature, perception, and prestige. This table reflects data from the five most commonly cited rankings published in 2025 (listed below).
| 2025 Ranking | University | Ave. Rank Public |
| 1 | UC Berkeley | 1.0 |
| 2 | Michigan | 4.6 |
| 3 | UC San Diego | 7.2 |
| 4 | Georgia Tech | 7.8 |
| 5 | UCLA | 9.4 |
We calculated the aggregated rank by taking each institution’s rank among public universities in a given ranking (i.e., after removing private universities), taking an equal-weighted average of those public-only rankings for each, and then re-ranking them among public peers. This table will be updated annually.
The five most common rankings are U.S. News Global (June), Forbes (August), U.S. News Best Colleges (September), The Wall Street Journal (September), and Times Higher Education (October). Both the U.S. News Global and Times Higher Education rankings include non-U.S. universities; only U.S. public universities were included in this calculation.
See more on our Cal Facts page.
Last update: January 2026
