By Whitney Baxter
Climbing five spots from last year, Iowa State University’s agriculture and forestry programs now rank No. 7 globally among 475 institutions, according to the 2026 QS World University Rankings. Compared to U.S. institutions offering the same programs, Iowa State ranks No. 4.
This is the 13th consecutive year Iowa State’s programs have been in the top 4% worldwide.
The QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Rankings are a resource for students deciding which university to attend. Factors considered in the rankings include institutions’ academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index (a measurement of the impact of a scientist or scholar’s published work) and international research network.
Students see value of their CALS education
Two College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students can attest to the value of their Iowa State education and the opportunities it has opened so far in their academic journey.
Alaina Gebel, a junior in agricultural and life sciences education and global resource systems, has taken advantage of Iowa State’s international network. Her participation in the CALS Dean’s Global Agriculture and Food Leadership program in Rome, Italy, marked the start of a string of international agriculture experiences.
Gebel serves as president of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences (IAAS) club at Iowa State. Through the organization, she served as a delegate for the IAAS at the 2025 World Food Forum at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters. Connections made through her participation led to an internship within the FAO’s Office of Youth and Women. Gebel will spend June through April 2027 working to establish World Food Forum chapters in North America.
“I never would have dreamed that this would be where I ended up,” said Gebel, who grew up on a farm in rural Iowa and had never traveled outside the U.S. prior to college. “I’m so thankful for my professors who have been very encouraging and pushed me to take advantage of these opportunities.”
Chloe Bogosian, a junior in forestry, said their Iowa State experiences have put them “far ahead” of students in other schools’ forestry programs. Contacts made during the Forestry Camp trip to New Hampshire led to a forest technician internship last summer with the New Hampshire Bureau of Forests and Lands.
Bogosian and another Iowa State student intern inventoried state property to inform management and harvest practices. They became more proficient in using forestry tools and learned how New Hampshire bids out properties to loggers.
“It was an incredible experience to learn more about forestry practices on the East Coast beyond what I learned at camp,” Bogosian said. “I brought back so many valuable skills that have advanced my classroom knowledge.”
Bogosian will expand their forestry experiences while studying abroad at University College Dublin in Ireland this fall before graduating in the spring of 2027. They intend to pursue a career in forest management.
“Our program emphasizes learning about forestry practices beyond what we utilize in Iowa, which prepares our students for whatever may come their way, no matter where they land a job after graduation,” Bogosian said.
Explore CALS undergraduate degrees and CALS graduate programs to learn more.