The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was founded in 1867. It is one of the flagship campuses of the University of Illinois, made up of 17 colleges offering about 150 different study programs. Being a member of the Association of American Universities and classified among ‘R1: Doctoral Universities with very high research activities’, the UIUC is one of the most reputed universities for research and academic demand in the USA.

  • For 2021, the US News Ranking agency ranked The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Doctoral program at 47th, and 15th for Top Public National Universities for Doctoral, in the US.
  • In 2019, it warned the Gold Level honours in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) for energy and resource raving works.

The alumni, faculties, and researchers of the University have won many accolades in the past. Till now, the UIUC’s people have won 30 Noble awards, 27 Pulitzer Prize, 2 Turing Awards, and 1 Fields Medal.

UIUC Accreditations and Affiliations

Accreditations Affiliations
Higher Learning Commissions (HLC) University of Illinois System
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) Association of American Universities
Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAS) Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU)
American Association for Leisure and Recreation (AALR) Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
American Bar Association National Athletic Association (NAA)
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign World Rankings

The University of Illinois has maintained its rank in the top 100 global universities for a few years. It is awarded an honourable rank by every major ranking agencies like Times Higher Education, QS WUR, CWUR, US News.

Ranking Agencies World Ranks (2021) 2020 2019
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 48th 48th 50th
US News & World Report 60th - -
ARWU - 45th 38th
QS WUR (2021) 82nd 75th 71

Other major UIUC rank highlights

  • Open Doors Number of International Students: 1st
  • THE US College Rankings 2021: 43rd
  • THE World Reputation Rankings 2020: 32nd
  • US News Undergraduate Business Ranking 2021: 19th
  • US News Top Public Schools- 15th
  • US News Most Innovative Schools- 35th
  • US News Best Value Schools- 144th

In the 2021 US News & World Report (USNWR) “America’s Best Colleges” report, UIUC’s undergraduate program was ranked 47th among national universities and tied for 15th among public universities, with its undergraduate engineering program ranked 6th in the US among schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Times Higher Education Rankings

The THE World University Rankings of the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is 48th with an overall score of 72.3. Various agencies have different criteria for ranking universities. Detailed below are the various criteria on which THE ranks The UIUC-

Parameters Score
Teaching 62.5
Research 79.1
Citations 81.3
Industry Income 49.5
International Outlook 55.1

The UIUC score an overall score of 72.3 and acquired the global rank of 48 in 2021.

THE World University Rankings for the decade has been a little off. It slipped from 31 in 2012 to 50 in 2019, regaining its ground again in 2019 and maintaining it consistently over three years.

As per Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, acquired 48th rank in 2021, with an overall score of 72.3. Among universities in US, UIUC acquired the 43rd rank, with the parameters on:

THE Impact Rankings Parameters Score
Resources 15.6
Engagement 17.4
Outcomes 35.8
Environment 7.6

Compare University of Chicago vs University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign US News

The University with an overall of 71 ranked #38 among best global universities as per US News 2020 Rankings. It is honored as #47 best global universities in the USA. The business school of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is especially popular for its research methodology and international mobility. I

n the Financial Times ranks of 2020, the school of business acquired 3rd rank all over the USA for international mobility, and career progress rank of 6th.

US News Best Online Program Rankings of the UIUC:

  • Master’s in Civil Engineering Programs- 1st
  • Master’s in Industrial Engineering Programs’ 4th
  • Masters in Mechanical Engineering Programs- 3rd

The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign QS Rankings

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the top public universities in the US. It has been featured regularly in the top 100. It was ranked #82 in QS Global World Rankings 2021. Various parameters on which the rankings were ascertained are:

Parameters Scores
Academic Reputation 87.4
Employer Reputation 52.1
Faculty Student 10.8
Citations per Faculty 83.7
International Faculty 18.8
International Students 60.4

The decadal trend of the UIUC by the QS Ranking is:

QS rankings clearly depict that the UIUC is currently on a downward trend, slipping constantly. Looking at the parameters, the culprit could be the faculty-student component and the international faculty component.

The University is working to get its ranks up, and it must be trusted, after all, it is working and growing constantly in the Graduate Employability Rankings, and the University is gradually in the top 100 for a decade.

QS Graduate Employability Rankings

The University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is also in the top 100 universities in graduate employability. In the year 2020, it acquired the 61st rank. The ranks have constantly upgraded from 150-200 range in 2017 to 61st in 2020. The graduate employability ranking of the University is based on the following criteria:

Parameter Score Weightage
Employer Reputation 49.5 30%
Alumni Outcome 71.2 25%
Partnership with Employers 88.2 25%
Employer- Student Connections 95.4 10%

The overall score of graduate employability of UIUC is 67.3 and acquired a rank of 61 in 2020/ Graduate employability is an important aspect for students who wish to enrol in graduate programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign vs University of Michigan Comparison

University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign Rankings National Rankings

Illinois University lies among the top universities in the USA. The 2020-2021 US News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges rankings rated Illinois as the number 15 public university and the number 47 national university.

Washington Monthly ranked UIUC 18th among 389 national universities in the US for 2020, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public services. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance rated UIUC 12th in its 2019 list of 174 Best Values in Public Colleges, which measures academic quality, cost, and financial aid. Given below are the national rankings for the University of Illinois for 2020 as per various popular ranking agencies:

Ranking Agency The University of Illinois National Rank
QS 33rd
THE 43rd
US News -

QS National Ranks for the year 2020 has given the overall score of 59.9 to the UIUC, getting it a rank of 33 in the USA. While the Times Higher Education for 2021, has put the UIUC on 43rd rank in the USA, giving it a score of 76.4. The Parameters on which the rankings are allotted are:

Parameter QS THE
Research 57.6 -
Diversity and Internationalization 74 -
Employability 42.5 -
Resources - 15.6
Engagement - 17.4
Outcomes - 35.8
Environment - 7.6

Rankings for the past few years are:

The University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign Subject Rankings 2020

Subject QS THE US News
Accounting and Finance 51-100 - 3
Agriculture & Forestry 27 - 20
Architecture 50 - -
Chemistry 35 - 47
Computer Science and Information Systems 33 20 13
Education and Training 35 - -
Civil Engineering 24 - 70
Electrical engineering 25 - 102
Mechanical Engineering 38 23 42
Library and Information Management 5 - -
Physics and Astronomy 19 31 22
Engineering and Technology 27 23 -
Social Science and Management 98 47 82

Programs of the University of Illinois ranked in global top 10

  • Graduate Program in Library and Information Science: 1st
  • Department of Accounting: 3rd
  • Undergraduate Computer Engineering: 3rd
  • Study of Condensed Matter Physics: 1st
  • Computer Science- 5th
  • Undergraduate Degree Program: 6th

The UIUC hosts the fastest supercomputer at the campus and is home to the second-largest public library in the whole United States, next to Harvard University. There are about 13 million volumes across nearly 40 library styles in the UIUC Library.

The University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign is a top-class university, no doubt going through some rough phase while maintaining its academic ranks and employability ranks, that is a good sign. It has won accolades in many endeavours and will continue to do it.

In sports too, Illinois athletic team is one of the best teams in the US. They compete in Division I of the NCAA and are the members of the Big Ten Conference. They have won five national championships, 29 medals in Olympics events, and ranks among the top 40 American universities with Olympic medals.