University of Washington is No. 7 in the world for environmental and occupational health sciences

| Jolayne Houtz
Exterior shot of an office building at night

The new UW Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, home of the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. Photo: UW Photography

Among US universities, DEOHS programs rank No. 3, according to new US News & World Report rankings

The University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) programs are ranked No. 7 in the world, according to newly released rankings from US News & World Report’s Best Global Universities.

Among US institutions, DEOHS ranks No. 3. Overall, the University of Washington ranks No. 6 in the world. The new rankings were released earlier this week.

"Our department works to build healthy communities and safe workplaces—in Washington and around the globe," said DEOHS Chair Michael Yost. "I am proud of our innovative and collaborative scientific research led by DEOHS faculty, students and staff and the high-impact work we do to translate our findings into better health for all people."

How US News rankings are created

The Best Global Universities ranking, now in its ninth year, encompasses the top 2,000 institutions spread across 90 countries, according to US News. American universities make up eight of the top 10 spots.

The US News subject ranking methodology uses data from Clarivate and the Web of Science and is based on academic research performance in each subject. US News used various bibliometric measures, including publications and citations for the five-year period from 2016 to 2020, as well as indicators for global and regional reputation in each of 47 different subject areas.

In environmental and occupational health, US News ranked 359 universities around the world and published rankings for 250 universities.

Here are all the top 10 UW rankings in US News’ subject rankings:

  • Immunology – No. 4
  • Molecular biology and genetics – No. 5
  • Clinical medicine – No. 6
  • Geosciences – No. 7
  • Infectious diseases – No. 7
  • Public, environmental and occupational health – No. 7
  • Social sciences and public health – No. 7
  • Biology and biochemistry – No. 8
  • Microbiology – No. 10

Times Higher Education ranks DEOHS No. 19

In a separate ranking also published this week—the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 by Subject—the UW’s physical sciences programs ranked No. 19 in the world, including environmental sciences.

Other UW programs ranked in the Times Higher Education top 25 global programs included: Computer Science (No. 15); Life Sciences (No. 16); Clinical and Health (No. 17); Social Sciences (No. 18); Physical Sciences, which includes mathematics and statistics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, and Earth and marine sciences (No. 19); and Education (No. 23).

“What terrific recognition of the innovative research, risk assessment, toxicology and statewide worker protection programs of DEOHS,” said Dr. Gilbert S. Omenn, former DEOHS chair and former dean of the UW School of Public Health.

About DEOHS

The Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington builds healthy communities and safe workplaces—in Washington and around the globe.

We educate students who will be tomorrow’s health and safety leaders. We research how environmental exposures and workplace factors affect people’s health. And we develop and test evidence-based health solutions for workers, employers and communities.

Our vision: Sustainable communities where everyone has access to clean air, clean water, safe food and safe workplaces.

Read the UW news release





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