Hunter
06/18/26
The 2026-27 US News and World Report global university rankings is out, and with higher ratings in parts of Asia and Latin America, Iowa universities continue to fall.
The Gazette reports the University of Iowa , which was ranked at 128th in 2016, ranked 238th last year and this year’s report ranks them at 249.
Iowa State’s drop is more dramatic; from 165th in 2016 to 344th in 2025 and now ranked 400th.
Among the factors used in the rankings are global and regional reputation, and academic research indicators like citations and publications.
A press release from the publication said that 12 new Chinese institutions entered the overall rankings this year, bringing a total of 30 universities into the top 200.
US News also ranked universities globally in 51 subjects. The UI’s top performing subject was neuroscience and behavior at 88th. Iowa State’s top performer was agriculture, ranked 45th.
US News national college rankings are due out in a few months. The University of Iowa dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since they were included in the national rankings in 2004.
A link to the report can be found below.