U.S. News Ranks UToledo Among 2026 Best Global Universities

U.S. News Ranks UToledo Among 2026 Best Global Universities

The University of Toledo is again ranked among the top research universities in the world.

U.S. News & World Report released its 2026 Best Global Universities in June, with UToledo in the top half of the more than 2,604 schools that the digital media company evaluated for global and regional research reputation and academic research performance.

UToledo ranked particularly highly in materials science, reflecting the institution's status as a leader in the research and development of thin-film photovoltaic technology through the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization and, more recently, its research expertise in support of the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub.

UToledo ranked No. 1 among global universities for the percentage of total research publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers in this category.

"Innovative research is integral to UToledo," said Dr. James Holloway, president of the University. "As the only university in Northwest Ohio with an R1 Classification for very high research activity in the latest Carnegie Classification, and one of only 187 such universities in the nation, we're extremely proud of our world-class researchers who tackle critical problems ranging from cancer to clean energy while offering valuable experiential learning opportunities to students as early as their first semester on campus."

U.S. News ranked UToledo in the top 11% of institutions in the world in terms of its regional research reputation. It also ranked the University in the top 15% of institutions in the world in terms of total percentage of publications that are among the top 1% of most highly cited papers and in the top 27% of institutions in the world in terms of published books.

UToledo is one of only 275 universities ranked within the United States.

Materials science remains a strength for UToledo, which ranked ahead of more than 60% of global universities in this interdisciplinary field that applies principles of chemistry and physics to understand how the structures of materials like glass, metals, polymers, ceramics and more affect their properties. The University will begin enrolling undergraduate students in a new dedicated materials science degree program beginning in the fall semester.

Clarivate, a data analytics firm, cites two materials science faculty researchers in its own annual list of the world's most highly cited researchers: Dr. Yanfa Yan and Dr. Zhaoning Song are leaders in the research and development of perovskite solar cells at the UToledo Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization.

In addition to materials science, UToledo received special recognition as among the best in the world in the subject areas of chemistry, clinical medicine and psychiatry/psychology.

A psychology researcher, Dr. Jon Elhai, is the third of three UToledo faculty researchers recognized as top of their field by Clarivate.

UToledo is also ranked among the top half of global universities evaluated by the Wall Street Journal Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai Rankings.