Florida universities, including UCF, rank in new U.S. News and World Report list

Several Florida universities, including UF, FSU and UCF, rated in the top 500 institutions worldwide in U.S. News and World Report’s research-focused Best Global Universities rankings, which were released Tuesday.

The rankings are based on a variety of criteria, including the number of scholarly papers produced, the institutions’ research reputations, and the number of papers published that are among the top 10% of the most highly cited papers in their fields.

“A major emphasis on academic research is what sets this methodology apart from our other university rankings,” Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, said in a news release.

The rankings are intended to help students compare institutions in their own countries with others across the world, U.S. News said. The U.S. has the most universities on the list, with 249 institutions ranked.

Harvard University was the top-ranked institution on the list of 1,500 schools, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.

The University of Florida was the state’s best-rated institution, tying for the 105th spot with Rutgers University-New Brunswick, while Florida State University tied for 190th with four other universities in the U.S., Australia and Belgium.

The University of Central Florida tied for the 477th spot with five other universities in the U.S., China and Germany.

Other Florida institutions that made the rankings include the University of Miami, which tied for 235th place; the University of South Florida, which ranked 310th; the Florida Institute of Technology, which shared the 454th spot with four other institutions; and Florida International University, which tied for 417th.

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