The University of Texas system jumped from No. 7 to No. 4 on the Reuters list of the world’s most innovative universities.

According to Reuters’s analysis released last week, UT rose from its 2015 ranking of No. 7 because of its efforts to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy.

“UT institutions and their faculty and student researchers are relentless in their drive to make discoveries that improve our quality of life and develop better treatments for devastating diseases,” UT System Chancellor William H. McRaven said in an email. “This ranking conveys the collective impact of UT System’s 14 institutions, the leadership of their presidents, and the transformational research conducted on their campuses.”

Electrical engineering sophomore Blake Martinisaid said he thinks UT ranked fourth because it makes an effort to integrate students quickly into their environments and pushes them to pursue new ideas in their fields of study.

“Students are given the opportunity at UT to join organizations that help them make advances in their passions,” Martini said. “Because of this, UT is able to change the world for the better.”

The ranking lists 100 universities throughout the world, both public and private. The UT System is the top-ranked public institution, behind the three private institutions of Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

“My fellow regents and I are tremendously proud of all 14 UT institutions and the global reach of their research, discoveries and scientific advances,” Board of Regents chairman Paul Foster said in an email. “At the System level, we are focused on creating networks and building collaboration among UT institutions to position faculty, clinicians, researchers and entrepreneurs for the greatest possible societal impact.”

Biochemistry freshman Melanie Webster said she believes the new ranking is extremely important for the UT community because it shows the University can broaden its horizons and is always trying to do better for the sake of
the students.

“This ranking shows students, especially freshmen, that UT isn’t limiting itself to being number seven,” Webster said. “If we keep this up, in a few years we might have the potential to be number one.”

The other top 10 institutions on the Reuters list include the University of Washington System at No. 5, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology at No. 6, University of Michigan System at No. 7, University of Pennsylvania at No. 8, KU Leuven in Belgium at No. 9 and Northwestern University at No. 10.