UCSB was recently ranked as #35 on the 2009 Academic Ranking of World Universities list, adding one more notch to the university’s tally of awards.

The ARWU was first released in 2003 by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. Created by Dean of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Graduate School of Education Nian Cai Liu, along with several other contributors, the list has since been released annually. This year’s list also included six other UCs in its top 50.

UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang said UCSB has been ranked in the mid-30s by the ARWU since its first release but has not ranked higher due to the youth of UCSB in comparison with other universities on the ARWU list.

“The Academic Ranking of World Universities began in 2003 and made significant changes to their methodology in 2004,” Yang said. “Among the new indicators that they look at are the number of international prizes (such as Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals) that have been won by a university’s graduates. This naturally benefits institutions much older than UC Santa Barbara, which have many more generations of alumni.”

In addition, UCSB was recently ranked at #8 on
payscale.com’s salary report, which measures the annual income of university alumni.

According to Yang, these rankings are a welcome reminder of the high-caliber education provided at UCSB.

“We appreciate it when the academic quality of our institution is recognized,” Yang said. “This ARWU ranking, along with many other high rankings for our campus and programs, is a reflection of the accumulated efforts of our distinguished faculty, as well as the high caliber of our students, the achievements of our alumni and the dedicated contributions of our staff.”

Additionally, many other UC campuses landed on several prestigious lists. UC Berkeley and UCLA earned the top two spots on the U.S. News & World Report list of America’s Best Colleges, respectively. Six UC campuses ranked among the top 15 public universities, and eight campuses placed in the top 50.

Spokesperson for the UC Office of the President Leslie Sepuka, said having six out of 10 UC campuses featured in the ranks is an exciting honor.

“We are well represented,” Sepuka said. “We can’t put too much of a focus on any report, but it really supports the work we do. It really honors … the work done on campus.”

This year, Washington Monthly also ranked UC Berkeley, UC San Diego and UCLA as the top national universities, with UC Davis and UC Riverside making it into the top 20, and UCSB placing 21st. Sierra magazine’s Green College Guide 2009 also honored three UCs for their sustainable practices, including UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley and UCLA.