The Times Higher Education’s 2010-2011 World University Rankings ranked UC Davis #38 in its list of the top 100 universities in the world, by reputation.  UC Davis ranks at #54 on the list of the top 200 universities in the world. It ranks 34th in North America, and is #42 on the Top 50 Engineering and Technology Universities in the world. UCD is #24 on the list of Top 50 Life Sciences Universities in the world.

Unlike the US News and World Report rankings, the Times rankings are based upon a carefully constructed survey administered by Thompson Reuters of 13,388 experienced academics from 131 countries. The average respondent had been working at a higher education institution for more than 16 years and had published more than 50 research papers.

The “reputation” table table ranks institutions according to an overall measure of their esteem that combines data on their reputations for research and teaching. The reputation scores are based on the number of times an institution was cited by survey respondents as being “the best” in their narrow fields of expertise. Each respondent was able to nominate a maximum of 10 institutions.

For the Top 200 rankings, the tables use 13 separate indicators designed to capture a broad range of activities, from teaching and research to knowledge transfer. These elements are brought together into five categories:

The weightings for the five categories, and the 13 indicators within them, vary considerably. High weightings are given where consultation has shown unmistakable enthusiasm for the indicator as a valuable proxy and clear confidence in the data we have. Lower weightings are employed where confidence in the data or the usefulness of the indicator is less pronounced.

For a detailed description of the methodology, click here.