The University of Michigan fell 11 spots in the QS World University Rankings released Tuesday, June 4, marking its fourth consecutive drop in the rankings.

The Ann Arbor university ranked No. 44 among all world universities, remaining in the top-15 of all U.S. universities. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first in the world.

The university also ranked third among all U.S. public universities, behind University of California-Berkeley at No. 12 overall and University of California-Los Angeles at No. 42 overall.

The rankings website charts all finishes for the Ann Arbor university since 2012, when it finished No. 17 overall. Its previous low was No. 33 last year, and before that No. 30 in 2016.

To be ranked among the best higher education institutions in the world is an honor, said university spokeswoman Colleen Mastony. The university does not use rankings to guide decision-making about academic programs or spending priorities, she added, but does reviews to understand the change.

“The university expects movement year-to-year given the variance in methodology,” Mastony said. “In situations when the university drops in a ranking, the university conducts a review to gain a better understanding of the change.”

When current university President Santa Ono took over in October 2022, the university ranked No. 23 overall. In the previous five years during former President Mark Schlissel’s tenure, the university ranked between Nos. 20-23.

The rankings consist of nearly 1,500 universities worldwide. The criteria weighs employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, research citations per faculty, proportion of international faculty and students, sustainability, employment outcomes and international network.

The university received high marks for its academic excellence, employment outcomes for students and its international research network. Two metrics saw score below 50 out of 100: citations per faculty and the ratio of international students.

Michigan State University was the other Michigan institution that ranked in the top-200 in the world, slotting in at No. 152 overall. The score was boosted by high marks for its sustainability efforts and international research network.

Other Michigan universities featured were Wayne State University at Nos. 791-800, Michigan Technological University at Nos. 901-950 and both Central Michigan University and Western Michigan University between Nos. 1201-1400.

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