Repeatedly ranked #1

ASU has topped U.S. News & World Report’s “Most Innovative Schools” list since the inception of the category in 2016. ASU again placed ahead of MIT and Stanford, based on a survey of peers. College presidents, provosts and admissions deans around the country nominated up to 15 colleges or universities that are making the most innovative improvements. 

ASU is ranked No. 1 in the nation — ahead of Michigan State, Penn State and MIT — and top 10 in the world five years in a row by Times Higher Education for advancing the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals. ASU ranks No. 1 in the U.S. for 11 of 17 (60%) of categories used to measure global impact.

ASU ranks No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Totaling 91.10 points out of 100, ASU ranks ahead of Stanford, Cornell and Colorado State. ASU's sustainable practices include using solar panels to power operations, harvesting campus-grown produce and more.

The Broadcast Education Association awarded the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication five first-place finishes, with a total of 23 awards, along with Syracuse, and ahead of Florida and USC. The Cronkite School also earned two top overall awards and was named the best Television Newscast (4/5 days per week) for the fourth straight year.

ASU is ranked the top public university in the U.S. chosen by international students, for the fourth straight year, in the 2024 Institute of International Education Open Doors Report. Placing ahead of UCLA, Purdue and the University of Texas. ASU hosted over 18,000 international students in fall 2023.

Scoring a perfect 100/100 for the third year in a row, the Thunderbird School of Global Management is ranked No. 1 in the world for international trade by the QS International Trade Rankings, ahead of Columbia, Michigan and UNC-Chapel Hill. QS selected Thunderbird’s Master of Global Management degree program as the world’s best international trade program.

ASU ranks No. 1 in geological and earth sciences research expenditures by the National Science Foundation’s annual HERD survey, which collects and ranks expenditures among higher education institutions. ASU places ahead of Caltech, Columbia University and MIT.

ASU ranks No. 1 in anthropology research expenditures by the National Science Foundation’s HERD survey which ranks research expenditure information from hundreds of higher education institutions across the nation. ASU ranks ahead of Michigan, Harvard and Stanford.

Demonstrating its commitment to advancing STEM disciplines, ASU ranks #1 in transdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and other sciences research expenditures by the National Science Foundation’s annual HERD survey, ahead of Northwestern, Johns Hopkins and Ohio State University.

ASU ranks No. 1 in the Air and Climate category by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in its annual Sustainable Campus Index report, ahead of Stanford and Cornell. ASU is named the top-performing higher education institution for taking action to measure and reduce its air pollutant emissions.

ASU ranks #1 for best online master’s in instructional media programs by U.S. News & World Report, 2023. Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College ranks #1 for best online master’s in instructional media programs by U.S. News & World Report, 2023.

W. P. Carey School of Business ranks No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 worldwide in Poets & Quants 2025 rankings of MBA entrepreneurship programs. ASU ranks ahead of Michigan, Duke and UCLA. Measuring 16 categories, the ranking emphasizes the percentage of MBA students launching businesses and MBA courses focused on entrepreneurship, innovation or both.

ASU is ranked No. 1 for visual and performing arts by the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates, ahead of UCLA, Columbia and Yale.The SED is based on the number and characteristics of individuals receiving research doctoral degrees in the academic year 2022–23 from U.S. academic institutions.

For the past nine years, ASU has been a top producer of Teach for America corps members — a trend that continued in 2024 with ASU ranking No. 1 among large universities, ahead of UCLA, UC Berkeley and Michigan. TFA corps members spend two years in classrooms supporting the educational and personal development of underserved students.