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

The University of Texas-Pan American

2016 University Academic Rankings
The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) was a state university located in Edinburg, Texas. Founded in 1927, it was a component institution of the University of Texas System. The university served the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas with baccalaureate, masters-level, and doctoral degrees. The Carnegie Foundation classified UTPA as a "doctoral research university". From the institution's founding until it was merged into the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), it grew from 200 students to over 20,000, making UTPA the tenth-largest university in the state of Texas. The majority of these students were natives of the Rio Grande Valley. UTPA also operated an Upper Level Studies Center in Rio Grande City, Starr County, Texas. On August 15, 2014, Havidan Rodriguez was appointed Interim President of UTPA.

In 2015, UTRGV entered into operation following the merger of UTPA and UT-Brownsville, founded as an extension of then-Pan-American University at Texas Southmost College. UTRGV will add a new medical school.

History | Edinburg College | Edinburg Junior College | Pan American College

Hidalgo County permitted to hold referendum for a four-year university in 1951; school became Pan American Regional College on December 20, 1951. Name changed to Pan American College following January 1952, appointment of a Board of Regents. Became 22nd member institution of the Texas System of Colleges and Universities in 1965, as a state senior college. Approved to offer graduate programs in 1970, beginning with Master of Arts, Master of Education, and Master of Science. First graduate to receive four-year degree was Harold W. Billings, B.A. 1953.

Pan American University

Achieved full university status and changed name to PAU. In 20-year period from 1965 to 1984, enrollment grew from 2,000 to nearly 10,000. Established second campus at Brownsville in 1973 (became University of Texas at Brownsville, later merged with University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). In December 1988, board members reached merger agreement with the University of Texas System pending state legislative approval (one of a series of similar mergers among state universities during that time period), granted in September 1989.

The University of Texas-Pan American | Merger with UTB and Medical School

On December 6, 2012, University of Texas regents approved a proposal to merge UTPA, the University of Texas-Brownsville, and a planned medical school into one regional institution. On December 12, 2013, the UT Board of Regents voted to name the new organization the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Campus | Main campus

The majority of academic buildings are enclosed by or span a covered walk way that spans the perimeter of the original campus. In 2007 UTPA added a new wellness center, and dormitory (Unity Dormitory 2007). On the northeast corner of campus is the Edinburg Baseball Stadium, which is considered one of the premier college baseball settings. The stadium was completed in 2001.

Starr County Upper-Level Center

The Starr Country Upper-Level Center is located in Rio Grande City. The center opened in 2003 and was rededicated and moved to a new location in 2009. Most courses offered are in bilingual education. There are also limited courses in criminal justice, history, English, and anthropology. As of 2009 over 200 students have graduated from the Starr County Upper-Level Center.

Coastal Studies Laboratory

Established in 1973, the Coastal Studies Laboratory (CSL) began as UTPA's marine biology laboratory and now serves the same role for UTRGV. It is located in the city of South Padre Island, which is located approximately 70 miles east of main campus. The CSL offers graduate level biology courses and houses several ecolo ... [more on wikipedia]

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "The University of Texas-Pan American", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

The University of Texas Details

The University of Texas Details
detail value
stateTexas
conferenceWestern Athletic Conference
publicPublic
scores1400/933/21
levelBelowAverage
rank[-1
overall ROI rank[-1
sizemedium
undergrads17858
grads3157
price25753
drop53
stem25
research0
scores validTrue
Common Questions...

What are the academic rankings for The University of Texas-Pan American?

1. number -1 for Academics.

2. number -1 for ROI (Return on Investment).

What universities are similar to The University of Texas-Pan American?


National Academic Rankings

(summary of all ranking placements)

The University of Texas National Academic Rankings

The University of Texas National Academic Rankings
category rank scores difficulty smartest brainpower faculty research salary ROI overall ROI
Western Athletic Conference455323311
South West Region589185323033331734
State of Texas315250151620201118
Top Ten Western Athletic Conference455323311


Peer Universities / Similar Universities

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

The University of Texas Peer Universities, Similar Universities to The University of Texas

The University of Texas Peer Universities, Similar Universities to The University of Texas
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI


Academic Peer Universities / Similar Academics

(mathematically similar academics)

The University of Texas Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to The University of Texas

The University of Texas Academic Peer Universities, Similar Academic Universities to The University of Texas
match image university state conference public level rank overall ROI