University of Colorado Boulder

Updated May 9, 2026
Country
United States
Founded
1876
Type
Education
ROR
02ttsq026
FWUR Rank#181 globally (of 4,980)#60 in United States
FWUR rank

Where the rankings agree — and where they don't

Methodology in active development · v0.1
Consensus 89.1/ 100Trimmed Mean v0.16 of 6 agenciesDivergent agency signal

But the 6 rankings disagree about this institution.

Range: rank 62–454 (392 positions apart).

Headline composite trimmed: dropped CWUR (#75, most generous score) and RUR (#309, harshest score).

ARWU
62[src]of 996
CWUR
75[src]of 1,929
THE
159[src]of 2,119
QS
299[src]of 1,462
RUR
309[src]of 1,128
SCImago
454[src]of 4,699
FWUR
181of 4,980

Distance from FWUR composite

Diagnostic only

Per-agency absolute distance from the trimmed-mean composite, in score space (0–100). Display only — does not feed back into the composite or any agency-quality measure. Lower means the agency reads this institution closer to the consensus.

  • QS9.5
  • THE3.4
  • ARWU4.8
  • CWUR7.1
  • RUR16.4
  • SCImago1.3

Why the divergence?

Research-oriented agencies
92.1ARWU + SCImago

Research output, citations, and bibliometric coverage.

Reputation-sensitive agencies
86.1QS + THE

Academic and employer reputation surveys.

Hybrid agencies
84.4CWUR + RUR

Mixed pillars including outcome and balance metrics.

Cycle alignment: agencies' latest publications mix years (2025/2026). Treat year-over-year deltas with care.

FWUR is a transparent synthesis of six published rankings — not a direct measurement of educational or research quality.

Try other agency subsets

Adjust the weights below to see how the consensus shifts. Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.

Pick your agencies (Mode C)

Toggle agencies to see how the composite + rank shift. The default is all six.

Default (Trimmed Mean, all 6) · #181 · 89.1
= canonical FWUR rank (toggle agencies off to customize)

Custom views are not the canonical FWUR rank.

Re-rank with your priorities

Slide the weights below. The composite, dimension scores, and methodology label update live.

Research33%
Research output and citations · ARWU + SCImago
92.1
Reputation33%
Academic and employer surveys · QS + THE
86.1
Outcome33%
Employability and balanced pillars · CWUR + RUR
84.4
Default (Trimmed Mean) · 89.1 / 100

Source observations · inputs to FWUR rank

CWUR2025
#75
cwur.org
RUR2025
#309
roundranking.com
SCImago2025
#454
scimagoir.com

Ranking trajectory · 2005–2024

SCImago fell #165 → #357 (2009–2024)

2024
#1#100#200#300#400#50020052009201420192024YEAR 2024FWUR▲11#158QS▲53#264THE▲10#138ARWU▼8#65CWUR▼6#72RUR▲135#323SCImago▼7#357
Show as table (accessible fallback)
YearQSTHEARWUCWURRURSCImago
2005#35
2006#34
2007#107#34
2008#180#34
2009#186#34#165
2010#170#32#144#172
2011#142#67#32#144#180
2012#157#77#33#46#186#183
2013#160#91#33#41#176#195
2014#184#97#34#63#191#190
2015#182#97#34#54#186#195
2016#175#127#38#65#145#191
2017#170#116#43#69#152#194
2018#182#100#38#50#155#202
2019#190#114#38#57#159#140
2020#206#124#44#69#169#297
2021#230#131#46#68#166#320
2022#251#158#51#69#205#313
2023#317#148#57#66#458#350
2024#264#138#65#72#323#357

Peer comparison cohort

Same country

#InstitutionStudentsAvg rank
1Rice University180.0
2The University of Utah177.0

Global peers

#InstitutionCountryStudentsAvg rank
1University of OxfordUnited Kingdom5.0
2Tsinghua UniversityChina17.0
3The University of MelbourneAustralia27.0

Where these numbers come from

Licensing: Each ranking agency licenses its full data and methodology under terms specific to that agency. FWUR exposes per-cycle headline ranks under fair-use citation; for sub-indicator scores or commercial use, refer to each agency's licensing page. ADR-040 §결정 4 forbids constructing per-pillar "FWUR Teaching/Research/Reputation Score" naming until ≥4 of 6 agencies grant sub-indicator licensing.

Sources