The University of New Mexico ranked amongst the top 1.6 percent of the top universities worldwide according to the 2021-22 edition of the “Global 2000 List" by the Center for World University Rankings released April 26.

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) publishes the largest academic rankings of global universities. A total of 19,788 universities were ranked this year according to their academic performance.

In the CWUR’s 2021-2022 rankings, UNM ranked No. 305 out of nearly 20,000 universities. In terms of its Research Performance Rank, UNM came in at No. 257, while its overall score was 76.6 out of a possible 100. When compared to other notable U.S. universities, UNM ranked higher than prestigious universities including the University of Colorado-Denver, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, Southern Methodist and Texas Tech University.

Additionally, UNM ranked No. 113 in the Regional Rank, which includes the U.S. and Canada. When compared to other notable regionally ranked U.S. universities, UNM ranked higher than Mountain West universities including San Diego State (150), Utah State (159) and Wyoming (165) to name a few. Colorado State was the highest-ranked Mountain West institution regionally at No. 86.

The U.S. has eight representatives in the top-10, which has been the case since the rankings started in 2012, and is the most represented country in the top 2000 with 347 universities.

The rankings are unique in that objective indicators are used for all four key pillars underlying the methodology of the ranking (quality of education, alumni employment, quality of faculty, and research performance) with no reliance on surveys and university data submissions; and equal emphasis is put on the learning environment and research.

CWUR uses seven objective and robust indicators grouped into four areas to rank the world’s universities. They include:

  • Quality of education, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have won major academic distinctions relative to the university's size (25 percent)
  • Alumni employment, measured by the number of a university's alumni who have held top executive positions at the world's largest companies relative to the university's size (25 percent)
  • Quality of faculty, measured by the number of faculty members who have won major academic distinctions (10 percent)
  • Research performance (40 percent)

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) is a leading consulting organization providing policy advice, strategic insights, and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. CWUR publishes authoritative global university rankings, known for objectivity, transparency, and consistency, which are trusted by students, academics, university administrators, and governments from around the world.

For the complete ranking of the top-2000 universities worldwide, visit CWUR World University Rankings 2021-2022.