BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – Virginia Tech has received high marks in two recent rankings of universities across both the country and the globe which highlights strengths in research, inclusivity, academic quality and more.
The first ranking appeared in the QS World University which ranked colleges in the United States which listed Virginia Tech at number 73 – up from last year’s ranking of 100.
The university also ranked among the top 20 public land grant institutions, with high research activity, in the country.
Universities were evaluated based on 17 metrics across four categories including employability, diversity and internationalization, learning experience and research.
Separately, Virginia Tech was one of more than 1,000 global universities that were recognized in the annual Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings which assesses institutions next to 17 goals for sustainable development established by the United Nations.
Approximately 1,117 universities in 94 countries were included in the rankings which compared institutions across three categories including research, stewardship and outreach.
The upward movement of Virginia Tech in these highly competitive global rankings is exciting and reflects our status as a leading global land-grant university. These ambitious goals inspire Virginia Tech researchers to solve problems that impact the community, the nation, and the globe and will enhance our quest to propel the research enterprise from national excellence to global eminence.”
Dan Sui, Vice President for Research and Innovation at Virginia Tech
In its first year as part of the Impact rankings, Virginia Tech scored above the median in eight goals including good health and well being; quality education; greater equity; clean water and sanitation; decent work and economic growth; reduced inequities; sustainable cities and communities; and responsible consumption and production – which Virginia Tech was ranked 23 out of 503 international institutions.
As part of its efforts to increase diversity across its Blacksburg campus, Virginia Tech has launched several initiatives including the SOAR (Students Opportunities and Achievement Resources) program which was created in 2019 to welcome and retain underrepresented minority students and promote their success.
The university is also working to increase accessibility which includes developing a fund to support live, synchronous captioning for eligible events and centralized funding to support reasonable accommodations for both employees and students.
Last year, Virginia Tech earned a gold rating for its work in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Also, the third iteration of Virginia Tech’s Climate Action Commitment was approved by the University’s Board of Visitors in March and includes 15 recommendations for advancing sustainability over the next five to 10 years.