Arizona State University has maintained its top-5 ranking among U.S. public universities for developing the next generation of digital and AI-ready leaders, according to a new survey.

The Digital Leaders in Higher Education Survey, released July 8, ranked ASU fourth among U.S. public universities and 17th among all American universities — public and private.

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Globally, ASU is 53rd, up two spots from last year. The rankings were released by Emerging, a consulting firm that specializes in employability.

“As AI reshapes our workforce, our economy and our daily lives, now more than ever we need leaders who not only possess technical expertise in AI and digital technologies, but also the critical thinking and principled innovation required to ensure that humanity is well served by the technologies we develop,” said Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and university provost. 

“Preparing our graduates to be ethical and transformational digital leaders is ASU’s goal, and we are proud to be recognized as a university developing such leaders.”

In the overall Digital Leaders category, ASU’s ranking of fourth among public universities, the same as last year, puts it ahead of the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois.

The overall digital leadership ranking was based on the following subcategories, in which ASU also ranked highly among public universities:

  • Digital transformation management: ASU was second, ahead of Georgia Tech, Michigan and the University of Washington.
  • Digital entrepreneurship: ASU was third, ahead of Georgia Tech, UCLA and the University of Texas.
  • Computer science: ASU was fourth, ahead of UCLA, Illinois and Purdue University.
  • Data science, AI and business analytics: ASU was ranked eighth, ahead of UCLA, Purdue and the University of Wisconsin.

The Digital Leaders rankings used large-scale professional and company data to examine the career journeys of more than 200,000 graduates in 165 countries to identify institutions that prepare students for an evolving digital landscape.