LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Midwest universities, led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan State University and Purdue University in Indiana, once again ranked among the best institutions for agricultural sciences programs across the globe, one of the latest world evaluations shows.

 

The 2017 QS World University Rankings, released late last month by the Britainbased Quacquarelli Symonds, placed the Madison school as the No. 6 best institution for agricultural sciences, followed MSU in the No. 7 spot, Purdue in the No. 8 spot, Iowa State University at No. 11 and the University of Illinois at No. 14. Of the top 15 ranked universities, 10 were based in the United States. Taking the top spot for the fourth consecutive year was Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, while two California-based schools finished in the top five and were ranked this country’s two best.

 

Rounding out the top five were the University of California-Davis, Cornell University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of California-Berkeley.

 

The respected QS organization annually ranks the top 300 institutions around the world in 46 different subjects. QS says its rankings are based on several criteria, key among them a school’s academic reputation, research impact and the reputation it has with employers.

 

Jay Akridge, Purdue’s dean of agriculture, said over the years the people who work and attend the university make that institution what it is. “While I have said many times that we do not chase rankings, I am proud of the role that our faculty, students and staff play in making this one of the 10 best colleges of agriculture and forestry in the world,” he said.

 

“The reputation we enjoy is because of our people, past and present, all of whom have a fundamental role in delivering the excellence for which our college is known globally.”

 

Purdue has been ranked in the top 10 of the QS reports every year since the first one released in 2010.

 

Other top-ranked American institutions included Cornell in New York at No. 3, Oregon State University and the U of I in a tie at No. 13 and Penn State University at No. 15.

 

The full QS list can be found online at  www.topuniversities.com

 

Rankings by U.S. News and World Report released earlier this year had similar agricultural sciences rankings to the QS report, with Wageningen as the top institution and UC-Davis ranked No. 2. Cornell came in at No. 4 while the University of Massachusetts-Amherst at No. 8 rounded out American schools in the top 10.

 

The University of Florida and Harvard University tied for No. 13 on the U.S. News list this year. U of I ranked No. 23, MSU was No. 24, ISU was No. 26, Ohio State University was No. 29 and Purdue was at 43. That list is available at www.usnews.com/education