Well, this is certainly an announcement for Penn Staters to brag about.

U.S. News and World Report, widely regarded as one of the most respected academic rankings list, released its report today on the Best Global Universities. Penn State clocked in at 52 among the top universities around the world.

This is the inaugural year of the Best Global Universities list, which features the top 500 institutions from 49 different countries. Penn State’s ranking places it as 34th among universities in the United States.

So where does Penn State rank among the Big Ten and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

Dear Old State is ranked fifth in the Big Ten, behind University of Michigan (14), Northwestern University (25), University of Wisconsin (27), Ohio State (34), and University of Maryland (51). It is the third best global university in Pennsylvania, following the University of Pennsylvania (19) and University of Pittsburgh (42), which may be suspect.

The data for the rankings is from Thomson Reuters InCities and includes variables such as global research reputation, publications, number of highly cited papers, international collaboration, and number of Ph.D.s awarded. The group focuses on academic research and reputation overall, rather than separating between graduate and undergraduate lines.

This ranking might seem a bit surprising, considering U.S. News and World Report ranked Penn State No. 48 in its latest domestic college rankings.

The research-heavy methodology differs significantly from what is used to produce the annual U.S. News domestic college rankings. Factors like undergraduate admissions selectivity and graduation rates are absent from the global formula, which plays a large role in the domestic college list. 

Hey, that’s fine with us. We’re happy to be ranked so high among universities from around the world.