New rankings out this week highlight the University of California’s leading role in tackling society's biggest problems and bringing new solutions to life for everyday Americans.
The financial data company PitchBook ranks UC Berkeley as the world's top university for undergraduate alumni launching venture-backed businesses in 2026. UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis and UC Irvine also made PitchBook’s top 100 for 2026.
UC President James B. Milliken
"The latest Pitchbook rankings reaffirm public higher education's essential role in fostering innovation, world-changing startups, and economic growth," said University of California President James B. Milliken. "No institution does this better than the University of California. This year, six UC campuses were named in the top 100 schools for entrepreneurs, including UC Berkeley at number one for the fourth consecutive year. I am proud of our students, faculty, alumni, and staff for embodying the spirit of ingenuity that defines our university and state."
2026 PitchBook top 100 universities ranked for undergraduate alumni entrepreneurs
| Campus | RANK |
|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 1 |
| UCLA | 15 |
| UC San Diego | 38 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 58 |
| UC Davis | 66 |
| UC Irvine | 89 |
And UC Berkeley topped the Female Founders undergraduate category for the third year running, joined in the top 40 this year by UCLA and UC San Diego. Those three campuses are also among the world’s top 50 for female graduate alumni entrepreneurs, and two campuses earned honors in the MBA alumnae category.
UC’s graduate degree holders are also making entrepreneurial waves. UC Berkeley edged out Columbia to nab the fourth spot on PitchBook’s list of global universities whose graduate alumni start companies, with UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Davis also scoring in the top 100. In the MBA category, UC Berkeley placed No. 9 and UCLA No. 12.
Together, this week’s accolades show UC’s strength at every stage of the innovation pipeline, from the spark of an idea that animates new research to the creation of companies that bring new products and solutions to market, generating new jobs and building economic value.
UC leads public colleges in research ambition and impact
Also out this week, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley hold the top two spots in Washington Monthly’s 2026 rankings of public institutions for strength in academic research, and UCLA comes in fifth on that list. Eight of UC’s undergraduate campuses rank in the top 30 public colleges for research nationwide.
Washington Monthly 2026 "Best Colleges for Research" rankings by campus
| Campus | U.S. (public) | U.S. (all) |
|---|---|---|
| UC San Diego | 1 | 6 |
| UC Berkeley | 2 | 7 |
| UCLA | 5 | 11 |
| UC Davis | 13 | 23 |
| UC Irvine | 19 | 34 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 20 | 37 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 27 | 48 |
| UC Riverside | 30 | 52 |
Together, this week’s accolades show UC’s strength at every stage of the innovation pipeline, from the spark of an idea that animates new research, through to the creation of companies that bring new products and solutions to market, where they generate new jobs and build economic value.
About the rankings
PitchBook’s annual university rankings compare schools by tallying up the number of alumni entrepreneurs who have raised venture capital in the last decade. The rankings are powered by PitchBook data and are based on an analysis of more than 222,000 VC-backed founders.
Washington Monthly 2026 Best Colleges for Research evaluates universities that each spend at least $100 million a year on research, scoring them in four areas: total research expenditure; the number of science and engineering doctorates awarded; the faculty elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and major national honors collected.
