American universities dominate U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of 2020’s best global universities, a list that evaluates 1,500 schools across the globe on academic research and reputation.

According to the rankings, eight of the world’s top 10 best universities are in the United States. Overall, 249 schools in the United States — the most of any country— made the list, including seven schools in Virginia and five in DC.

U.S. News stresses that the newly released rankings specifically focus on academic research and overall reputation of the schools and not on the undergraduate and graduate programs. In the global rankings, schools are also assessed in subjects like business, economics, engineering and computer science. The individual subject rankings are intended to measure a school’s global position in a field.

The Virginia colleges on U.S. News’ list are:
49. University of Virginia
79. Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
113. Virginia Commonwealth University
119. George Mason University
132. William & Mary
172. Old Dominion University
221. Eastern Virginia Medical School