UC Berkeley is consistently ranked among the five top research universities in the world, along with Harvard, Stanford, MIT and others. Berkeley is the top-ranked public university.

Global University	Public University

According to numerous surveys, UC Berkeley is ranked in the top five across many subject areas.  According to the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021, UC Berkeley's highest ranked fields include:  

• Automation and control
• Biotechnology
• Chemistry
• Computer science and engineering
• Ecology
• Economics
• Electrical and electronic engineering
• Law
• Materials science and engineering
• Physics
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Statistics

These rankings, compiled by ShanghaiRankings Consultancy, compare the top 500 higher education institutions worldwide, public and private. It uses a variety of indicators of academic or research performance, including:

• Nobel Prizes and other international awards won by alumni and faculty or staff.
• Highly-cited researchers in 52 broad subject categories.
• Articles published in selected top journals and noted in major citation indexes.

In National rankings, UC Berkeley holds the No. 1 ranking in Forbes' list of America's Top Colleges, and is ranked No. 2 by U.S. News and World Reports' list of Best Public Colleges.

U.S. News and World Reports uses 13 indicators to calculate Best Global Universities with an emphasis on academic research and overall reputation.   UC Berkeley ranks No. 4 in its overall ranking of global universities, and has consistently been ranked within the top 5 across many subject areas including:

• Biology and Biochemistry
• Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science
• Economics & Business
• Environment & Ecology
• Physics
• Plant & Animal Science
• Space Science

News

Why UC Berkeley -- not Harvard -- is America's top college 
UC Berkeley in U.S. News' 2022 rankings