UC Berkeley, shown here, and UCLA were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among U.S. public institutions in the new 2026-27 Best Global Universities ranking from U.S. News and World Report.
(Credit: Elena Zhukova/University of California)

The University of California is not just the best public university in the United States — it also leads the world.

That’s the verdict of U.S. News & World Report’s 2026–27 Best Global Universities ranking, released Tuesday, June 16. It places four UC campuses in the top 25 of the world’s best 2,250 universities — a feat no other university system in the world can match. It also lists eight UC campuses among the top 30 public institutions in the United States, with UC Berkeley and UCLA as No. 1 and No. 2.

Read the whole story from the UC Newsroom