University of California - San Francisco: Rankings

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The University of California - San Francisco ranked 32nd in the United States, 42nd in the global 2026 rating, and scored in the TOP 10 across 41 research topics. The University of California - San Francisco ranking is based on 3 factors: research output (EduRank's index has 275,601 academic publications and 16,128,161 citations attributed to the university), non-academic reputation, and the impact of 96 notable alumni.

Ranking Category
#42 of 14,131 In the World
#35 of 2,597 In North America
#32 of 2,496 In the United States
#7 of 249 In California
#1 of 12 In San Francisco
#2 of 1,950 For Dermatology
#3 of 6,793 For Medicine
#3 of 4,449 For Immunology
#772 of 8,074 For Alumni Impact
#55 of 14,131 For Non-academic Prominence
Top10 For 38 other topics

Jump to topical rankings below

Acceptance rate and other statistics

Medicine rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 3rd for Medicine in the United States and 3rd in the World with 235,629 publications made and 13,361,414 citations received. Main research topics: Pathology, Surgery, Psychiatry, Immunology, Radiology and Nuclear medicine.

Medicine ranking Location
#3 of 1,604 In the United States
#3 of 1,689 In North America
#3 of 6,793 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Medicine Publications & Citations

Year Medicine publications Medicine citations
1993 2237 58849
1994 2286 65290
1995 2390 74279
1996 2757 81240
1997 2765 91443
1998 2873 103455
1999 2775 115777
2000 2996 127581
2001 2957 137594
2002 3172 150961
2003 3595 170514
2004 4031 186784
2005 4258 202559
2006 4595 225229
2007 4693 247652
2008 5119 276037
2009 5566 298568
2010 6060 334963
2011 6313 371068
2012 6744 412039
2013 7360 449259
2014 7841 481422
2015 8095 509819
2016 8644 531756
2017 8994 571980
2018 9565 597615
2019 10429 665251
2020 12363 819470
2021 12346 909683
2022 12071 886004
2023 12404 889685
2024 11427 850894
2025 10253 761002

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Medicine.

Biology rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 6th for Biology in the United States and 7th in the World with 210,785 publications made and 13,661,294 citations received. Main research topics: Genetics, Biochemistry, Immunology, Neuroscience, Oncology and Cancer research.

Biology ranking Location
#6 of 1,612 In the United States
#7 of 1,701 In North America
#7 of 6,841 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Biology Publications & Citations

Year Biology publications Biology citations
1993 2246 72372
1994 2208 79150
1995 2314 87795
1996 2704 93883
1997 2668 105779
1998 2800 118728
1999 2693 131324
2000 2904 142903
2001 2916 153937
2002 3013 165884
2003 3393 187037
2004 3825 202511
2005 3958 216685
2006 4255 238447
2007 4315 259915
2008 4689 284905
2009 5047 307098
2010 5485 342971
2011 5639 377023
2012 5927 415771
2013 6562 452068
2014 6895 482422
2015 7075 502385
2016 7506 525529
2017 7743 563710
2018 8267 591681
2019 8974 656371
2020 10434 801184
2021 10472 887089
2022 10175 859138
2023 10374 859329
2024 9231 821399
2025 8152 725182

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Biology.

Biology subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Immunology 3 3 3
Pharmacology 3 3 3
Virology 3 3 3
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 4 4 4
Oncology and Cancer research 4 4 4
Biochemistry 4 4 4
Genetics 4 4 4
Molecular Biology 4 4 4
Biophysics 6 6 6
Neuroscience 5 6 7
Biotechnology 9 10 10
Microbiology 10 11 12
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 10 11 14
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 12 14 22
Evolutionary Biology 19 21 25
Toxicology 19 21 28
Paleontology 29 33 52
Botany 37 42 72
Astrobiology 47 52 109
Zoology 44 51 109
Animal Science 69 81 269
Nutrition and Food Science 51 60 284
Nanotechnology 79 86 298
Horticulture 71 84 377
Agricultural Science 86 101 398
Entomology 123 142 410
Forestry 107 133 605

Chemistry rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 13th for Chemistry in the United States and 17th in the World with 128,275 publications made and 9,604,433 citations received. Main research topics: Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Physical chemistry.

Chemistry ranking Location
#13 of 1,455 In the United States
#14 of 1,538 In North America
#17 of 6,561 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Chemistry Publications & Citations

Year Chemistry publications Chemistry citations
1993 1659 59238
1994 1665 64457
1995 1676 71308
1996 1966 75326
1997 1908 84921
1998 2087 95946
1999 1933 106224
2000 2043 113645
2001 2089 121151
2002 2096 128807
2003 2312 144102
2004 2560 153717
2005 2632 161236
2006 2685 175828
2007 2732 190474
2008 2931 204626
2009 3130 219288
2010 3380 242965
2011 3398 265199
2012 3585 288068
2013 3833 312563
2014 3917 332355
2015 3950 340140
2016 4178 356324
2017 4282 381551
2018 4580 402048
2019 4894 441769
2020 5480 532646
2021 5371 585854
2022 5358 564810
2023 5337 560517
2024 4565 515285
2025 4092 441090

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Chemistry.

Chemistry subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Biochemistry 4 4 4
Organic Chemistry 25 26 45
Computational Chemistry 39 41 76
Materials Science 57 63 191
Inorganic Chemistry 55 62 193
Radiochemistry 33 38 208
Pharmacy 56 65 269
Nutrition and Food Science 51 60 284
Nanotechnology 79 86 298
Polymer science and Plastics engineering 82 92 311
Biochemical Engineering 69 82 322
Physical chemistry 94 109 457
Chemical Engineering 98 114 515
Petrology and Geochemistry 126 156 585
Environmental Chemistry 123 146 594

Psychology rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 10th for Psychology in the United States and 12th in the World with 103,749 publications made and 5,900,094 citations received. Main research topics: Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology, Child Psychology.

Psychology ranking Location
#10 of 1,561 In the United States
#11 of 1,648 In North America
#12 of 6,663 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Psychology Publications & Citations

Year Psychology publications Psychology citations
1993 903 24858
1994 905 27766
1995 966 33190
1996 1162 34974
1997 1116 38932
1998 1138 43449
1999 1168 49208
2000 1204 54343
2001 1205 58208
2002 1359 64815
2003 1580 74344
2004 1707 80167
2005 1779 86689
2006 1976 98197
2007 1991 108935
2008 2188 120015
2009 2338 130589
2010 2720 148461
2011 2731 164022
2012 3019 185238
2013 3283 203120
2014 3455 218872
2015 3613 230953
2016 3921 242471
2017 4194 261978
2018 4370 277571
2019 4848 312008
2020 5605 381711
2021 5766 420202
2022 5568 408443
2023 5895 411442
2024 5271 386389
2025 4550 349228

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Psychology.

Psychology subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Sexology 4 4 4
Psychiatry 4 5 6
Neuroscience 5 6 7
Clinical Psychology 10 11 13
Occupational Therapy 14 19 30
Child Psychology 36 39 47
Cognitive Science 37 41 52
Social Psychology 46 51 67
Education Majors 76 87 150
Social Work 86 98 186
Special Education 90 103 187
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 89 107 228
Organizational / Business / IO Psychology 145 164 306

Computer Science rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 26th for Computer Science in the United States and 32nd in the World with 99,652 publications made and 6,251,597 citations received. Main research topics: Neuroscience, Bioinformatics and Computational biology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Cognitive Science.

Computer Science ranking Location
#26 of 1,616 In the United States
#28 of 1,702 In North America
#32 of 6,855 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Computer Science Publications & Citations

Year Computer Science publications Computer Science citations
1993 871 24694
1994 896 27570
1995 944 32308
1996 1109 33468
1997 1010 37084
1998 1031 42021
1999 1025 46430
2000 1128 51175
2001 1149 55934
2002 1282 62718
2003 1472 71368
2004 1585 77215
2005 1683 84972
2006 1943 96029
2007 1893 107149
2008 2090 117197
2009 2330 130648
2010 2564 148707
2011 2622 167185
2012 2913 188012
2013 3099 207337
2014 3296 224437
2015 3451 237671
2016 3794 253304
2017 3905 276491
2018 4328 296431
2019 4692 335187
2020 5466 413586
2021 5635 464382
2022 5546 453397
2023 5786 457331
2024 4943 440268
2025 4337 394489

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Computer Science.

Computer Science subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Bioinformatics and Computational biology 4 4 4
Neuroscience 5 6 7
Library and Information science 26 27 31
Data Science 33 38 52
Cognitive Science 37 41 52
Computer Graphics 40 44 81
Machine Learning 42 49 92
Artificial Intelligence (AI) 52 60 143
Computer Vision 63 74 200
Cyber Security 70 83 221
Computational Linguistics 66 79 221
Telecommunications 78 93 257
UX/UI Desgin 74 89 260
Multimedia 94 107 266
Human-Computer Interaction 79 95 287
Software Engineering 93 110 340
Game Design and Development 88 109 355
Computer Networking 109 130 384
Computer Engineering 134 163 571
Animation 136 161 630
Web Design and Development 142 170 647
Management Information Systems 170 194 659
Database Administration 176 205 790
Robotics 163 194 906
Blockchain and Cryptography 200 231 1156

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 33rd for Liberal Arts & Social Sciences in the United States and 51st in the World with 94,600 publications made and 4,693,085 citations received. Main research topics: Sociology, Political Science, Law, Philosophy, Demography.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences ranking Location
#33 of 1,763 In the United States
#37 of 1,854 In North America
#51 of 7,088 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Publications & Citations

Year Liberal Arts & Social Sciences publications Liberal Arts & Social Sciences citations
1993 714 16680
1994 751 18558
1995 809 20096
1996 892 22000
1997 903 23642
1998 944 27196
1999 891 29500
2000 1030 33964
2001 1034 37828
2002 1150 43291
2003 1277 48509
2004 1390 54571
2005 1608 61861
2006 1675 71066
2007 1794 80032
2008 1953 89550
2009 2158 100822
2010 2290 112213
2011 2452 127203
2012 2727 142593
2013 2909 159160
2014 3192 174410
2015 3294 185446
2016 3685 195693
2017 3892 212845
2018 4272 225443
2019 4608 254745
2020 5683 318489
2021 5851 352114
2022 5550 342566
2023 5951 352690
2024 5065 320538
2025 4498 279005

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences.

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Demography 8 9 11
Occupational Safety and Health 12 13 17
Anthropology 12 14 20
Military science 19 19 22
Gender Studies 22 24 29
Library and Information science 26 27 31
Sociology 25 27 36
Linguistics 31 34 46
Journalism and Digital Media 39 40 50
Law 36 38 54
Political Science 36 41 63
Sports / Exercise science 29 37 66
Genealogy 41 45 77
Art History 46 51 82
Philosophy 38 45 88
Criminology and Criminal Justice 56 63 92
Publishing 33 40 92
Archaeology 47 52 101
Classics and Ancient History 49 55 102
History 49 55 105
Law Enforcement 68 75 106
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies 59 67 124
Communications and Public Relations 58 68 125
Aesthetics 58 69 135
Public Policy / Administration 65 76 137
Radio and Television broadcasting 71 77 141
Education Majors 76 87 150
Social Work 86 98 186
Special Education 90 103 187
Forensic Science 59 68 210
Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 89 107 228
Broadcast Journalism 118 137 300
Human Rights Law 105 125 314
Intellectual Property and Patent Law 140 157 375
Media Studies 155 183 378
International Relations and Diplomacy 132 155 385
Political Economy 231 262 646
Early Childhood Education 322 355 799

Engineering rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 48th for Engineering in the United States and 116th in the World with 60,082 publications made and 3,564,866 citations received. Main research topics: Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Biotechnology, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering.

Engineering ranking Location
#48 of 1,568 In the United States
#53 of 1,655 In North America
#116 of 6,795 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Engineering Publications & Citations

Year Engineering publications Engineering citations
1993 737 19220
1994 714 20884
1995 731 23680
1996 872 25630
1997 830 28282
1998 897 32202
1999 810 34946
2000 850 38147
2001 840 41243
2002 949 44630
2003 990 49572
2004 1108 54286
2005 1204 58283
2006 1225 64651
2007 1219 71139
2008 1351 78912
2009 1431 84503
2010 1552 93530
2011 1618 102857
2012 1698 114160
2013 1745 124641
2014 1866 130592
2015 1888 134150
2016 2016 142234
2017 2009 149828
2018 2293 159276
2019 2441 175254
2020 2745 211103
2021 2689 233398
2022 2606 223771
2023 2597 224221
2024 2399 215231
2025 2186 190027

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Engineering.

Physics rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 48th for Physics in the United States and 124th in the World with 58,303 publications made and 3,465,965 citations received. Main research topics: Quantum and Particle physics, Materials Science, Optical Engineering, Biophysics, Astrophysics and Astronomy.

Physics ranking Location
#48 of 1,537 In the United States
#53 of 1,623 In North America
#124 of 6,729 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Physics Publications & Citations

Year Physics publications Physics citations
1993 777 20283
1994 732 21714
1995 788 24752
1996 914 26592
1997 822 29403
1998 910 32900
1999 855 35687
2000 864 38670
2001 874 41601
2002 948 44692
2003 984 50065
2004 1081 53549
2005 1142 57322
2006 1169 63469
2007 1166 68673
2008 1297 75770
2009 1368 80444
2010 1517 88386
2011 1453 96619
2012 1532 106487
2013 1589 114366
2014 1802 119494
2015 1835 123563
2016 1867 128605
2017 1910 137367
2018 2136 146062
2019 2257 159556
2020 2530 193387
2021 2458 212405
2022 2416 203135
2023 2430 206278
2024 2300 203655
2025 2130 181394

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Physics.

Physics subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Medical Physics 4 5 5
Biophysics 6 6 6
Optical Engineering 38 41 98
Astrobiology 47 52 109
Acoustical Engineering 53 59 140
Astrophysics and Astronomy 59 68 157
Nuclear Physics 59 65 181
Materials Science 57 63 191
Quantum and Particle physics 66 76 224
Nanotechnology 79 86 298
Atomic and Molecular physics 105 127 402
Applied/Engineering Physics 152 177 736
Condensed Matter Physics 144 167 811
Theoretical Physics 193 226 941

Environmental Science rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 49th for Environmental Science in the United States and 98th in the World with 52,693 publications made and 2,894,698 citations received. Main research topics: Geology, Paleontology, Geography and Cartography, Ecology, Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation.

Environmental Science ranking Location
#49 of 1,637 In the United States
#54 of 1,727 In North America
#98 of 6,888 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Environmental Science Publications & Citations

Year Environmental Science publications Environmental Science citations
1993 569 14805
1994 536 16707
1995 609 18276
1996 664 19841
1997 639 22032
1998 629 24131
1999 626 26363
2000 697 29629
2001 641 31551
2002 723 35129
2003 814 38363
2004 904 43149
2005 920 46158
2006 974 51768
2007 1063 55940
2008 1180 62625
2009 1350 69217
2010 1328 75915
2011 1385 84798
2012 1460 94841
2013 1567 103447
2014 1631 112765
2015 1735 118510
2016 1893 123538
2017 1957 132610
2018 2113 141106
2019 2317 158539
2020 2779 198990
2021 2781 217598
2022 2700 207271
2023 2619 209926
2024 2461 196112
2025 2118 171869

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Environmental Science.

Environmental Science subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation 12 14 22
Paleontology 29 33 52
Geology 49 54 100
Ecology 62 70 154
Geography and Cartography 60 69 168
Meteorology and Atmospheric Science 70 80 234
Environmental Engineering 63 76 286
Geotechnical Engineering 81 97 315
Oceanography 90 110 346
Earth science and Geophysics 95 115 373
Agricultural Science 86 101 398
Environmental Management 96 119 471
Petrology and Geochemistry 126 156 585
Environmental Chemistry 123 146 594
Forestry 107 133 605

Mathematics rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 37th for Mathematics in the United States and 53rd in the World with 43,909 publications made and 2,318,718 citations received. Main research topics: Statistics, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Math Teachers, Actuarial Science, Operations Research.

Mathematics ranking Location
#37 of 1,413 In the United States
#40 of 1,494 In North America
#53 of 6,434 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Mathematics Publications & Citations

Year Mathematics publications Mathematics citations
1993 216 3889
1994 214 4745
1995 217 5052
1996 272 5801
1997 304 6419
1998 299 7289
1999 299 8193
2000 351 9877
2001 375 11381
2002 453 13233
2003 518 15374
2004 599 17459
2005 693 21411
2006 834 24116
2007 805 27678
2008 893 31399
2009 1010 36762
2010 1167 41847
2011 1262 48593
2012 1388 53988
2013 1520 63253
2014 1635 69233
2015 1717 77329
2016 1870 82393
2017 1944 89156
2018 2214 98734
2019 2470 113127
2020 3013 142276
2021 3147 164224
2022 3102 165845
2023 3321 168245
2024 2272 134557
2025 2063 117556

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Mathematics.

Mathematics subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Statistics 31 33 44
Actuarial Science 68 75 122
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 86 100 212
Operations Research 81 100 327
Math Teachers 149 167 354
Applied Mathematics 157 183 858
Blockchain and Cryptography 200 231 1156

Economics rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 36th for Economics in the United States and 57th in the World with 22,956 publications made and 950,498 citations received. Main research topics: Development Studies, Finance, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, Actuarial Science, International Trade.

Economics ranking Location
#36 of 1,361 In the United States
#38 of 1,445 In North America
#57 of 6,188 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Economics Publications & Citations

Year Economics publications Economics citations
1993 120 2318
1994 138 2938
1995 172 2776
1996 167 3103
1997 180 3413
1998 173 3805
1999 182 4212
2000 219 5401
2001 223 5659
2002 271 6575
2003 285 7673
2004 297 8700
2005 358 10117
2006 375 12227
2007 394 13544
2008 429 15081
2009 466 17643
2010 527 19658
2011 582 22538
2012 676 25717
2013 698 29129
2014 734 32305
2015 841 35415
2016 906 38096
2017 959 41265
2018 1159 44478
2019 1202 50496
2020 1608 65108
2021 1691 73907
2022 1623 72370
2023 1760 76909
2024 1436 66530
2025 1235 59053

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Economics.

Economics subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Development Studies 16 17 19
Actuarial Science 68 75 122
Econometrics and Mathematical Economics 86 100 212
Finance 107 124 325
International Relations and Diplomacy 132 155 385
Political Economy 231 262 646
International Trade 127 152 675
International Economics 123 146 676
Investment Banking and Stock trading 327 364 1585

Business rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 64th for Business in the United States and 146th in the World with 18,546 publications made and 772,984 citations received. Main research topics: Management, Marketing, Finance, Advertising, Accounting.

Business ranking Location
#64 of 1,388 In the United States
#74 of 1,472 In North America
#146 of 6,366 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Business Publications & Citations

Year Business publications Business citations
1993 124 2526
1994 138 2852
1995 144 2749
1996 175 3454
1997 181 3299
1998 177 3791
1999 175 4256
2000 224 5144
2001 201 5408
2002 245 6990
2003 246 7623
2004 263 8406
2005 348 9442
2006 338 11296
2007 348 12432
2008 388 14423
2009 397 16100
2010 452 17972
2011 498 20724
2012 531 22655
2013 586 25872
2014 581 27852
2015 708 29965
2016 764 32417
2017 754 34398
2018 918 37948
2019 930 42363
2020 1187 53174
2021 1171 59159
2022 1076 56979
2023 1240 59075
2024 968 49895
2025 850 44429

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Business.

Business subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Occupational Safety and Health 12 13 17
Advertising 64 70 105
Human Resource Management 49 58 118
Actuarial Science 68 75 122
Marketing 59 68 124
Public Policy / Administration 65 76 137
Management 58 68 149
Accounting 88 100 179
Engineering Management 107 118 254
Entertainment Industry Business 104 121 312
Finance 107 124 325
Operations Research 81 100 327
Project Management 106 126 351
Management Information Systems 170 194 659
International Trade 127 152 675
International Business 148 173 707
Risk Management 172 200 719
Hospitality and Hotel Management 126 153 892
Construction Management 178 211 1088
Investment Banking and Stock trading 327 364 1585

Art & Design rankings

The University of California - San Francisco ranked 50th for Art & Design in the United States and 106th in the World with 8,152 publications made and 392,897 citations received. Main research topics: Fashion Design, Literature, Aesthetics, Art History, Computer Graphics.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

Art & Design ranking Location
#50 of 1,369 In the United States
#58 of 1,454 In North America
#106 of 6,010 In the World

University of California - San Francisco
Art & Design Publications & Citations

Year Art & Design publications Art & Design citations
1993 55 1325
1994 75 1577
1995 104 1774
1996 114 2109
1997 124 2177
1998 101 2434
1999 97 2509
2000 119 2739
2001 126 3310
2002 125 3814
2003 110 4109
2004 157 4483
2005 144 5002
2006 170 5927
2007 166 6495
2008 172 7141
2009 166 8112
2010 184 8817
2011 212 10187
2012 209 11315
2013 229 12698
2014 219 13500
2015 253 14428
2016 308 14862
2017 313 16169
2018 336 17163
2019 373 19706
2020 419 24288
2021 424 26709
2022 400 26153
2023 447 27126
2024 404 30263
2025 367 28434

The following table provides academic rankings for The University of California - San Francisco in various areas of Art & Design.

Art & Design subfield United States ranking North America ranking World rank
Singing and Vocal Performance 10 13 24
Computer Graphics 40 44 81
Art History 46 51 82
Fashion Design 49 54 106
Music 51 58 111
Photography 51 57 120
Aesthetics 58 69 135
Creative Writing 64 76 153
Literature 71 84 174
Painting and Drawing 45 51 180
Sculpture 45 51 180
Illustration and Concept Art 48 54 187
Performing arts 70 82 199
UX/UI Desgin 74 89 260
Multimedia 94 107 266
Entertainment Industry Business 104 121 312
Graphic Design 104 119 332
Game Design and Development 88 109 355
Cinematography 137 159 445
Architecture 112 134 522
Animation 136 161 630