Kent State ranks between 400 to 500 in the 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

“It’s exciting that we made this list that recognizes top universities worldwide,” said Emily Vincent, director of university media relations. “I think employees, students and alumni can feel great about being a part of a university that gets recognized on a global scale.”

The rankings after the first 100 are divided into sections of 100 and alphabetized within those divisions. Tim Chandler, senior associate provost, said he could not have predicted Kent State would rank this high when the university signed up to be a part of this survey.

“We thought we deserved to be up there, and it is very nice to have that confirmed,” Chandler said. “We believe we’re doing great things here, but it’s nice to have it all confirmed by others particularly in comparison to peer institutions all over the world.”

The Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University performed the research for the 2011 ARWU. The survey posted the top 500 universities of more than 1,000 that chose to be ranked.

“This survey was originally created to gauge the effectiveness of universities in China, but it attracted universities like Kent State worldwide,” Vincent said.

Vincent said the center looks for the following objectives when ranking universities: the number of alumni and staff awards, number of highly cited researchers, number of published articles, number of articles written and per capita performance according to the size of the institution.

President Lester Lefton said in a press release that this is the second consecutive year the university has been on this list. Out of all U.S. universities on this list, Kent State ranked in the top 138 to 151 schools.

Chandler said the university can increase its current globalization efforts even further because it was listed.

“This can only help us as we look to continue to globalize our curriculum, bring in more international students and encourage more to go abroad,” Chandler said. “The name of Kent State is more readily recognized as one of the top universities in the world.”

Vincent said this survey also helps the university by bringing more awareness to students considering college, and gives pride to students already attending the university.

Kate McCallum, senior Russian translation major, said she graduates this December. She said she was not surprised that Kent State made it on the list.

“Kent State is really well-known for a lot of its programs, so it’s not shocking,” McCallum said. “I have a lot more confidence graduating from a university that was listed as a top world university, and I am more likely to get a job because I attended a prestigious university.”

Contact Megan Wilkinson at [email protected].