University Benchmarks

Ranking the Top 100 Academic Universities

UniversityBenchmarks.com ranks the universities that attract and produce the best academic students.

There are many 'University Rankings' on the internet. Most rankings rely heavily on subjective metrics like 'reputation' and 'selectivity'. UniversityBenchmarks is purely an academic ranking model. The rankings are based on the reported academic and financial metrics of the colleges. There are no subjective factors like 'reputation' that are used. The calculations are performed using normal statistical models. All universities are considered equal and there is no weighting of the ranking categories.

The university 2014-2015 dataset is comprised of over 2400 US Universities & Colleges and comes from multiple sources using the most favorable reported metrics for a university.

The universities are ranked against each other in each filtered set. It is an iterative process whereby lower ranking universities are removed and the set is re-ranked until the final set of 100 is reached.

Selecting 'Rank Top 10 Only' will show the Top 10 for each filter category ranked against each other.

The academic rankings of the universities within the major conferences (ACC, Big12, Big10, Pac12, SEC) are available.

The 2017 rankings will be available in August.

Notes:
  • It is possible for universities to be ranked higher/lower than one another depending on the filter set.
  • Conference averages are based on the top 8 schools in the conference.
  • Public Schools are highlighted
  • Clicking on the university's seal icon will take you to the university's website.

Ranking Fields

Rank - Overall rank based on the average of the ranking fields (Scores, Difficulty, Smartest, Brainpower, Faculty and Research).

Scores - SAT & ACT scores. The university's test scores are corrected for dropout rate when score level is Good, Excellent or Elite. This will slightly boost scores for highly competitive schools.

Difficulty - Academic rigor is estimated based on how difficult it is to get an "A" at the university. An estimated GPA at the university is calculated for the average US Student. University grade inflation, average GPA, and STEM density are factors.

Smartest - University that can field the highest scoring students based on the average US University size. Higher Smartest Rank = "Smartest for the Average University"

Brainpower - The average "smartest" rank using 5 reference populations (CalTech, MIT, Stanford, GaTech and Berkeley). Higher Brainpower Rank = "Higher Density of Smart Students". The university ranked higher can mathematically field 'X' number of smarter students than universities ranked below them.

Faculty - Ranking based on number of % of faculty with awards and academy membership.

Research - Ranking is achieved by iteratively ranking the average of 3 research metrics (r-pop, r-stem, r-other ). The lowest ranked college is then removed and the new set is re-ranked. The result is the schools with potentially the strongest research environments per student bubble up to the top regardless of size or research budget.

  • r-pop - Average research spending for student population
  • r-stem - STEM research spending
  • r-other - Other/Medical/Health research spending

Salary ROI - "Salary Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. Using the undergraduate average starting and mid-career salaries, the rank is based on a 20yr salary accumulation (with raises) minus the cost of a 4 year education at the university. Salaries are normalized across the country using the average COLA for the university's geo-economic region (7 regions total). The COLA effect is diminished by the level of the university. Elite, Excellent and Good universities have a greater distribution of graduates across the country and a diminishing COLA effect. The resultant value would be the graduate's spending potential over the 20yr period.

Overall ROI - "Overall Return on Investment" is not used in the overall ranking but is provided for additional information. The average of Overall Rank and Salary ROI. This would be the "Best academic bang for the buck". Colleges that produce the best education, at the best price, with the best return will be ranked higher.

Color Key - ranks are colorized as follows 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 50 100

The 2016 University Academic Rankings

California State University-Fullerton

2016 University Academic Rankings
California State University, Fullerton (known as CSUF, Cal State Fullerton, or Fullerton State) is a public research university located in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of almost 39,000 it has the second largest student body out of the 23 campus California State University ("CSU") system, and its approximately 5,900 graduate student body is the second largest in the CSU and one of the largest in all of California. As of Fall 2013, the school had 1,932 faculty, of which 707 (36.6%) were on the tenure track.

The Orange County university offers over 240 degrees including 120 different Bachelor's degrees, 118 types of Master's degrees, 3 Doctoral degrees including a Doctor of Nursing and two Doctor of Education, and 19 teaching credentials.

CSUF is designated both as a Hispanic-serving institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISIs). The university is nationally accredited in art, athletic training, business, chemistry, communications, communicative disorders, computer science, dance, engineering, music, nursing, public administration, public health, social work, teacher education and theater. Spending related to CSUF generates an impact of around $1 billion to the California and local economy, and sustains nearly 9,000 jobs statewide.

History | Founding

In 1957, CSUF became the twelfth state college in California to be authorized by the state legislature as a degree-granting institution. The following year, a site was designated for the campus to be established in northeast Fullerton. The property was purchased in 1959. This is the same year that Dr. William B. Langsdorf was appointed as founding president of the school.

The University was originally named Orange County State College. Classes began with 452 students in September 1959. The name of the school was changed to Orange State College in July 1962. In 1964, the name of the school was changed for a second time to California State College at Fullerton. In June 1972, the final name change occurred and the school became California State University, Fullerton.

2000s: Modern growth

The University grew rapidly in the first decade of the 2000s. The Performing Arts Center was built in January 2006, and in the summer of 2008 the newly constructed Steven G. Mihaylo Hall and the new Student Recreation Center opened. In fall 2008, the Performing Arts Center was renamed the Joseph A.W. Clayes III Performing Arts Center, in honor of a $5-million pledge made to the University by the trustees of the Joseph A.W. Clayes III Charitable Trust. Since 1963, the curriculum has expanded to include many graduate programs, including multiple doctorate degrees, as well as numerous credential and certificate programs.

Mascot

The choice of the elephant as the University's mascot, dubbed Tuffy the Titan, dates to 1962, when the campus hosted "The First Intercollegiate Elephant Race in Human History." The May 11 event attracted 10,000 spectators, 15 pachyderm entrants, a telegram from Richard M. Nixon, and worldwide news coverage.

Campus

CSUF was built on the site of former citrus groves in northeast Fullerton. It is bordered on the east by the Orange Freeway (SR-57), on the west by State College Boulevard, on the north by Yorba Linda Boulevard, and on the south by Nutwood Avenue.

Although established in the late 1950s, much of the initial construction on campus took place in the late 1960s, under the supervision of noted artist and architect Howard van Heuklyn, who gave the campus a striking, futuristic architecture (buildings like Pollak Library South, Titan Shops, Humanities, McCarthy Hall). This was in response to the numerous Googie buildings in the Fullerton community. The library houses the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Collection.
... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "California State University-Fullerton", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

California State University Details

California State University Details
detail value
stateCalifornia
conferenceBig West Conference
publicPublic
scores1525/1017/23
levelAverage
rank[362
overall ROI rank[435
sizelarge
undergrads32726
grads5402
price35545
drop44
stem16
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for California State University-Fullerton?

1. number 362 for Academics.

2. number 435 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to California State University-Fullerton?

1. Texas State University

2. San Diego State University

3. Georgia State University

4. Ohio University

5. Northern Arizona University

6. Kent State University at Kent

7. West Virginia University


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

California State University National Academic Rankings

California State University National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Big West Conference878556688
West Coast Region487572192028265952
State of California314946161620184032
Top Ten Big West Conference878556688


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

(mathematically similar student body, size, academics, stem, salary... etc)

California State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to California State University

California State University Peer Universities, Similar Universities to California State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
93.22
Texas State UniversityTexasSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage364290
92.45
San Diego State UniversityCaliforniaMountain West ConferencePublicAverage183218
91.83
Georgia State UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage253230
91.47
Ohio UniversityOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage215174
91.42
Northern Arizona UniversityArizonaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage336333
91.42
Kent State University at KentOhioMid American ConferencePublicAverage347358
91.26
West Virginia UniversityWest VirginiaBig Twelve ConferencePublicAverage320192
91.20
East Carolina UniversityNorth CarolinaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage312325
86.06
University of North TexasTexasConference USAPublicAboveAverage192165
85.96
Brigham Young University-IdahoIdahoNo Conference AffiliationPrivateAverage312164
85.63
University of Missouri-ColumbiaMissouriSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage12198
85.63
Michigan State UniversityMichiganBig Ten ConferencePublicAverage11174
85.07
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaSouth CarolinaSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage93130
84.85
University of Nevada-Las VegasNevadaMountain West ConferencePublicBelowAverage421449
84.81
Kennesaw State UniversityGeorgiaAtlantic Sun ConferencePublicAverage290291
84.53
University of Massachusetts-AmherstMassachusettsMid - American Conference / At...PublicAboveAverage88144
84.53
University of KentuckyKentuckySoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage159130
84.45
University of ArkansasArkansasSoutheastern ConferencePublicAboveAverage171119
84.10
Old Dominion UniversityVirginiaConference USAPublicAverage356368
83.74
Eastern Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicAverage445385
83.48
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
83.21
St John's University-New YorkNew YorkBig East ConferencePrivateAverage309444
82.63
SUNY at AlbanyNew YorkColonial Athletic Association ...PublicAverage188218
81.77
Pace University-New YorkNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAverage476465
79.96
Florida State UniversityFloridaAtlantic Coast ConferencePublicAboveAverage76104
79.10
Temple UniversityPennsylvaniaAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage168199
78.62
San Francisco State UniversityCaliforniaCalifornia Collegiate Athletic...PublicBelowAverage428458
78.28
University of CincinnatiOhioAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAboveAverage202106
78.28
Utah State UniversityUtahMountain West ConferencePublicAboveAverage165120
77.89
George Mason UniversityVirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferencePublicAboveAverage156143
77.74
Grand Valley State UniversityMichiganGreat Lakes Intercollegiate At...PublicAverage247239
77.54
Central Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage454402
77.46
Middle Tennessee State UniversityTennesseeConference USAPublicAverage384372
77.40
University of Nebraska-LincolnNebraskaBig Ten ConferencePublicAboveAverage11998
77.27
University of KansasKansasBig Twelve ConferencePublicAboveAverage172130
77.19
University of DelawareDelawareColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAboveAverage107138
77.18
Western Michigan UniversityMichiganMid American ConferencePublicBelowAverage446320
77.16
Towson UniversityMarylandColonial Athletic AssociationPublicAverage264365
77.16
University of California-RiversideCaliforniaBig West ConferencePublicAverage167212
77.11
Missouri State University-SpringfieldMissouriMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage301266
77.03
Illinois State UniversityIllinoisMissouri Valley ConferencePublicAverage279222
77.00
Georgia Southern UniversityGeorgiaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage254236
76.78
Oakland UniversityMichiganHorizon LeaguePublicAverage417270
76.77
CUNY Hunter CollegeNew YorkCity University of New York At...PublicAboveAverage193228
76.76
Sam Houston State UniversityTexasSouthland ConferencePublicAverage472383
76.65
University of California-Santa CruzCaliforniaDivision III IndependentsPublicAverage157208
76.62
DePaul UniversityIllinoisBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage193150
76.57
Montclair State UniversityNew JerseyNew Jersey Athletic ConferencePublicBelowAverage447463
76.55
CUNY Queens CollegeNew YorkEast Coast ConferencePublicAverage307400
76.51
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLouisianaSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage350248


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

California State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to California State University

California State University Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to California State University
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI
98.00
Texas State UniversityTexasSun Belt ConferencePublicAverage364290
95.21
University of North DakotaNorth DakotaBig Sky ConferencePublicAverage363266
94.13
University of MemphisTennesseeAmerican Athletic ConferencePublicAverage359314
92.72
Regis UniversityColoradoRocky Mountain Athletic ConferencePrivateAverage360303
91.34
Big South Conference (Average)-Big South Conference-Conf-Average-392
90.59
SUNY College at OswegoNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAboveAverage361450
90.27
SUNY OneontaNew YorkState University of New York A...PublicAverage365466
88.32
Seton Hall UniversityNew JerseyBig East ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365390
87.77
Adelphi UniversityNew YorkNortheast 10 ConferencePrivateAboveAverage365444
84.25
Northwest Conference (Average)-Northwest Conference-Conf-AboveAverage-440