Harvard University
Each year, the Global University Visibility (GUV) Rankings, developed by American Caldwell gives their audience a compelling snapshot of which universities are commanding global attention. Developed by American Caldwell, the GUV Rankings emphasize visibility rather than reputation.
Their rankings are based on visibility and use third-party data which is divided into five key categories: News Mentions, Public Interest (quantified through search data), Social Media Followers, Website Visitors, and Video Views. Among these, News Mentions and Public Interest receive the greatest weight.
GLOBAL UNIVERSITY VISIBILITY RANKINGS (TOP TEN)
The 2025-2026 GUV Rankings show both stability and momentum among the world’s most visible universities. The two Boston-based universities, Harvard and MIT, remained in the top two spots, though their profiles differ: Harvard dominates in news mentions (55,448) and public interest (843,000), while MIT leads in website traffic (44.9 million) but garners significantly less public search attention (183,900). Stanford held strong at No. 3, while Toronto leapt from 11th to 4th, marking its highest placement to date. Oxford held strong and steady at No. 5.
Purdue University jumped to 6th – up three spots – driven by rising engagement across channels. King Saud University followed closely with a ton of website visitors despite low news mentions, overtaking both Cornell and Columbia, which slipped despite Columbia’s high news presence. Closing out the top ten, University of British Columbia made the biggest leap, up six spots, supported by the school’s growing visibility in the news.
THE MOST NOTABLE AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES OUTSIDE OF THE TOP TEN
| Rank | University | Visibility Score | Website Visitors | News Mentions | Public Interest | Social Media |
| 12 | Yale University | 18,150,819 | 9,597,000 | 23,130 | 436,100 | 3,525,800 |
| 13 | Texas A&M – College Station | 18,082,897 | 8,818,000 | 53,060 | 506,760 | 2,382,000 |
| 14 | Arizona State University | 17,596,058 | 11,260,000 | 13,263 | 255,900 | 1,861,800 |
| 15 | University of Michigan | 17,442,900 | 14,190,000 | 3,037 | 26,400 | 2,340,600 |
| 16 | UCLA | 16,372,553 | 10,780,000 | 13,367 | 270,500 | 2,234,500 |
| 18 | University of California – Berkeley | 15,536,785 | 11,790,000 | 17,948 | 112,800 | 2,029,600 |
| 19 | Brigham Young University | 14,736,016 | 11,840,000 | 5,186 | 68,100 | 981,500 |
| 20 | New York University | 14,380,040 | 9,770,000 | 26,667 | 173,100 | 2,688,500 |
| 21 | University of Pennsylvania | 14,085,616 | 10,330,000 | 36,801 | 233,700 | 1,396,300 |
| 22 | University of Florida | 13,910,338 | 9,753,000 | 19,479 | 330,900 | 1,883,000 |
| 23 | Liberty University | 13,298,495 | 5,971,000 | 1,896 | 331,400 | 897,500 |
| 26 | University of Chicago | 12,893,944 | 7,970,000 | 22,752 | 167,300 | 989,900 |
| 28 | University of Texas – Austin | 12,426,100 | 9,413,000 | 2,367 | 39,900 | 1,999,700 |
| 29 | Ohio State University | 12,185,890 | 8,433,000 | 17,192 | 161,200 | 2,241,100 |
Source: American Caldwell
Among the most notable U.S. schools to shift rankings from last year to this year, Texas A&M climbed to 13th with 53,060 news mentions and 506,760 in public interest, a clear spike in national attention. Yale followed with a rise to 12th, sustained by strong numbers in both news (23,130) and search traffic (436,100). Meanwhile, Brigham Young University leaped 22 spots to 19th despite lower news and interest metrics thanks to nearly 12 million website visits. On the flip side, Berkeley slipped to 18th as public interest dropped to 112,800.
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