Penn State Ranks At Number 2 In US In 2025 QS Sustainability Rankings

QS released the World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025. University of Toronto Canada tops the list followed by ETH Zurich, Lund University, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), and UCL. In the US, Penn State University is positioned at number 2.

Study in US: QS World University Rankings: Sustainability for 2025 was released yesterday. Among a list of 237 universities which ranked in the US in this ranking, Penn State secured the second position. Worldwide the university was at number 19, it rose to 18 places.

"Penn State is also ranked at No. 1 among Big Ten institutions and No. 2 among all U.S. public universities," reads Penn State's official statement.

Lara Fowler, chief sustainability officer at Penn State commented, “We’re proud to recognize Penn State’s strong and consistent presence in the QS World University Rankings. Our success in advancing sustainability reflects the collective passion, innovation and dedication of our University community. This meaningful work — championed by our students, faculty, staff, administrators and community partners — creates ripples of positive change across our campuses and extends to the state and global communities where we have a vital presence.”

“This significant advancement in Penn State’s QS Sustainability ranking is a reflection of our institutional commitment to addressing local to global sustainability challenges as part of our land-grant mission. This recognition demonstrates that the university’s sustainability efforts and our faculty and students engaged in sustainability research and education are truly doing cutting-edge work," said Sabine Klahr, interim vice provost for Penn State Global.

Penn State In Top 5 In 2025 QS Sustainability Rankings: Details

According to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the rankings used a methodology which used indicators designed to measure how the institute is working towards the world’s greatest environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges.

Penn State has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability through its research enterprise, university operations, and course-based and experiential learning opportunities for students. Its flagship programs also highlight its commitment, these programs include the Local Climate Action Program, Sustainable Communities Collaborative, the annual student-led Global Sustainable Action Conference, and the Sustainable Labs Program.

QS used three categories to assess sustainability which included “Environmental Impact,” for which the university ranked at number 23 internationally, “Social Impact,” (Penn at No. 23 globally), and for Governance, it ranked Number 73 in the world.

Read more:

• University of Sheffield At 27th Position In World For Sustainability In QS Rankings
• NYU Ranks Number 1 For Research Funding In New York State