UT Health San Antonio achieves top global ranking for research and clinical medicine

The race to draw the best and brightest students has become an international one, with candidates weighing options not only in their state or country, but also across the globe. Universities likewise face fierce competition globally for top scientists and research funding.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) was ranked at the top 5% of universities in the world (No. 51 out of the top 1,000) in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Global Universities for Clinical Medicine. And it ranked in the top 12% on the publication’s overall Best Global Universities list (No. 269 out of the top 2,250), based on 13 indicators that measure academic research performance and global and regional reputations.

Notably, UT Health San Antonio was 12^th in the world for one of those indicators that measures the impact of its discoveries – a metric called “normalized citation impact” that compares the number of citations research receives per paper to the average for similar published work, a core measure of research impact.

Being ranked among the best in the world is a testament to the caliber of our research and the dedication of our faculty, students and staff. A global reputation allows us to attract diverse talent, foster international collaborations and address the most pressing health challenges across borders.”

Jennifer Sharpe Potter, PhD, MPH, UT Health San Antonio senior vice president for research, founding director of Be Well Institute on Substance Use and Related Disorders and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences

UT Health San Antonio is the largest academic research institution in South Texas, with an annual portfolio of $413 million. The university’s 1,500 researchers, working across 108 specialized research units, produce more than 2,300 scientific publications annually, advancing knowledge in critical fields such as Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, chronic pain, metabolic diseases including diabetes, mental health and military health.

As a leader in research and clinical breakthroughs, UT Health San Antonio currently has more than 550 clinical trials underway.

The university is the sixth fastest-growing institution in North America for research output, according to Nature Index 2024, which tracks contributions to research articles published in high-quality natural science and health science journals. Nature Index ranked UT Health San Antonio No. 32 out of 917 nationally for research output as a health care institute.

Of the universities in Texas that were ranked in the two U.S. News & World Report listings, UT Health San Antonio was second-highest for clinical medicine research and among the top six from the overall Best Global Universities list.

UT Health San Antonio stood out as a subject leader not only in clinical medicine, but also in endocrinology and metabolism and surgery. Subject matter scores were calibrated separately based on several factors including academic research performance, number of publications and citations along with global and regional reputation in that subject.

“An increasing global recognition that we are a top-tier university is a reflection of our commitment to excellence and the groundbreaking discoveries that our investigators are making that have a global impact not only in advancing scientific knowledge but also in delivering novel solutions to human diseases that at present have no cures,” said Manzoor Bhat, PhD, MS, vice dean for research and distinguished chair in neurosciences at the university’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

“With state-of-the-art infrastructure, our investigators are at the cutting edge of making new discoveries that will transform not only how we manage human diseases but actually cure them,” Bhat said.

The announced merger between UT Health San Antonio and The University of Texas at San Antonio will further catapult the powerhouse institution to a premier global university for its outstanding academic reputation and research output. Additionally, the combined institution will be better poised to address the region’s burgeoning health needs, drive economic growth, advance innovation and draw new partnerships.