BU Soars in New Rankings of World Universities and in Digital Leaders in Higher Education | BU Today
BU’s investments in cutting-edge science have drawn the attention of educators, employers, and now two rating companies that have given shout-outs to the University.
University News
Ratings compiled by London’s QS and the French company Emerging
A French rating company has put Boston University in the top tier of schools for digital education and graduates’ employability. It’s one of two shout-outs for BU this month by evaluators, with London-based QS also lauding the University in its annual World University Rankings.
Digital Leaders in Higher Education 2025, compiled by Emerging, a French company that partners with universities and colleges to incorporate employability in their missions, recognizes schools for “their emphasis on digital expertise and their commitment to teaching transferable digital skills across the curriculum.” The ratings gave BU high grades in several categories:
9th out of 150 schools for Data Science, AI, & Business Analytics, which combines artificial intelligence with automation to bolster business operations;
11th out of 200 schools in Digital Talent Development;
12th out of 150 schools for Computer Science;
21st out of 150 schools in Digital Entrepreneurship, which assesses universities that educate students to create and manage digital businesses; and
21st out of 150 schools for Digital Transformation Management, measuring universities’ training of students in both technology and business skills.
“I am pleased that Boston University’s already strong global reputation continues to expand, and I’m especially delighted with how these rankings recognize our growth in our digital education offerings and resources,” says BU President Melissa Gilliam. “We are at the forefront of higher education in preparing future leaders to be successful in an increasingly digital world.”
Given that the raters rely heavily on institutions’ reputations in assembling their lists, “BU’s ascent in computing, data science, and AI is being noticed and appreciated by our peers as well as by employers of our students,” says Azer Bestavros, associate provost for Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) and a William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor. He credits that high reputation to the University’s approach to investing in those fields, “not as stand-alone disciplines, but as crosscutting catalysts for advancing all disciplines and for preparing students for careers in all professions.
“Going forward, now that CDS programs are in full swing, what we are seeing in these most recent rankings is only a harbinger of good news about BU’s remarkable forward momentum. The data used in these rankings do not reflect the incredible growth in faculty recruitment in digital science/AI areas, not just in CDS but across BU. They do not reflect new programs we launched, most notably our residential and online professional MS in data science.”
BU also surged in the QS 2026 “World University Rankings,” clocking in at 25th among 192 US institutions and 88th among 1,501 schools globally. The global ranking marks BU’s advancement from 108th last year and puts the University in the top 6 percent of evaluated institutions.
“We are proud of the strides Boston University continues to make among our peers,” Gloria Waters, BU provost and chief academic officer, says of the rankings. “The higher ed landscape grows more competitive with each passing year, and this ranking shines a well-deserved light on the exceptional productivity of our professors, our status as an employment destination, and our reputation as a talent pipeline for future leaders in innovative, high-demand fields. It is a notable distinction and reflects the hard work of our talented faculty and staff and their commitment to excellence.”
QS bases its rankings on multiple criteria, the most important reputation among a survey of global academics; a similar reputational survey among global employers as to “which institutions are providing the most job-ready graduates”; the average number of citations of faculty in scholarly publications; the employability of graduates; and the faculty/student ratio. BU’s ascent this year in the QS rankings reflects improvement in these weighty criteria.
The other metrics used by QS are a university’s proportions of foreign faculty members and students, “a proxy measure for how internationally attractive the university is”; the depth and diversity of research collaborations with foreign partners; and the social and environmental impacts of a university’s sustainability efforts.