George Mason University made a significant leap in the just-released 2020 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education.
On the strength of its citations, Mason climbed into the 251-300 group among the 1,396 institutions that were evaluated. Last year, Mason was in the 301-350 group.
Times Higher Education uses its world rankings to create its U.S. evaluation of 172 institutions. Mason’s 251-300 rank puts it in a group of 10 ranked together behind 60 institutions with an individual rank and 11 others ranked 200-251.
Last year, Mason’s world rank of 301-350 placed it in a U.S. group of 14 institutions behind the top 60, a group of nine ranked 201-250 and 14 others ranked 251-300.
“The rankings are a recognition of the outstanding work of our world-class faculty,” Mason President Anne Holton said. “They are a reflection of the university’s commitment to providing access to excellence and serving the largest most diverse student body in Virginia.”
Times Higher Education used 13 performance indicators spread over four categories in its assessment: research, citations, international outlook (the proportion of international students, staff and collaboration), and industry income (the ability of an institution to attract funding from the commercial marketplace).
Mason’s highest rank of 131 worldwide came in citations.
"Mason’s rankings reflect the progress we have made in our teaching and learning environment, our research volume and reputation, and our overall scholarly impact,” Provost S. David Wu said. “This is a great testimony to the talent and dedication of our incredible faculty and staff.”