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U.S. News Partnership

We are a proud data partner for the U.S. News and World Report's 2024 Best Colleges Rankings

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Helping students and researchers explore the best US institutions for diverse needs

Elsevier has partnered with U.S. News and World Report to supply data for the 2024 U.S. Best Colleges Rankings(opens in new tab/window), as part of changes to their 2024 methodology(opens in new tab/window). The new methodology places greater emphasis on outcomes such as how often a school's students from all socioeconomic backgrounds earn degrees and graduate with manageable debt.

Scopus Data in U.S. News Best Colleges

U.S. News and World Report has chosen to leverage the quality and breadth of Elsevier's Scopus Data to accurately measure the research output of U.S. universities.

The National Universities rankings(opens in new tab/window) category, which include schools that offer a range of undergraduate majors, plus master's and PhD programs, now include four new metrics on the research productivity of faculty. The new metrics were calculated using Scopus Data extracted via SciVal, a solution that provides access to the research performance of institutions and their associated researchers worldwide.

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The metrics were extracted from SciVal based on Scopus Data, and weighted as follows:

  • Citations per Publication (1.25%) or average citation impact.

  • Field-Weighted Citation Impact (1.25%) or citation impact normalized for field, type of publication and year of publication.

  • The share of publications in the top 5% of most cited journals by CiteScore (1%).

  • The share of publications in the top 25% of most cited journals by CiteScore (0.5%).

Visit this page for more information on the full rankings methodology.(opens in new tab/window)

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Data can help students navigate their education journey

University and college rankings are a valuable tool for people and organizations seeking objective insight into the strengths of universities and colleges. They’re widely used by students, parents, researchers, potential faculty members, funders, industry, and other organizations.

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"The significant changes in this year’s methodology are part of the on-going evolution to make sure our rankings capture what is most important for students...Part of these changes included the addition of faculty research metrics, and these metrics were calculated using Scopus and SciVal data. It is the first time that faculty research has been included in the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings methodology."

Eric Brooks

EB

Eric Brooks

Principal Data Analyst at U.S. News

Learn more about university rankings

Quick guide to major global rankings

Get a comprehensive overview of seven ranking reports, including the organizations' stated objectives for each report, an explanation of their methodology, and the data source they use. The information is sourced from publicly available data. Last updated in September 2023.

Read the guide(opens in new tab/window)

7 major rankings

More resources on university rankings

Explore these resources for a deeper look into how rankings work, and learn about analyzing and tracking research activities to support your institution's rankings and reputation goals.

Explore these resources

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Learn more about SciVal and Scopus

Learn more about SciVal and Scopus

Rankings organizations such as U.S. News and World Report, Times Higher Education (THE) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rely on Scopus and SciVal to implement their methodologies and develop performance benchmarks.

Learn how Scopus Data extracted through SciVal's analytical tools can support your institution's ranking and reputation goals.

Learn more

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