Research productivity drives Fisher’s rise in key rankings and measures

A view of Fisher Hall against a blue sky.

Fisher’s commitment to producing the very best in academic research continues to yield strong results, with the college making positive gains nationally and globally in new rankings and measures.

Fisher ranked 25th in the world, 23rd in North America and 11th among public universities in the 2025 UT-Dallas Research Rankings. 

Fisher improved two spots globally and nationally from the 2024 rankings and saw its overall research productivity increase from 180 articles published to 188.

“These latest rankings are a testament to the dedication and intellectual rigor of our research faculty,” said Aravind Chandrasekaran, interim dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business.

“At Fisher, we believe that scholarly excellence and real-world impact are closely intertwined in driving new ideas in business. I’m incredibly proud that our faculty continue to elevate the college’s reputation on the national stage. This positive momentum reflects not just individual achievement, but their shared commitment to advancing thought leadership and shaping all areas of business.”

The annual ranking, which uses a five-year rolling average, is based on scholarly work featured in 24 top-tier, peer-reviewed journals spanning various business fields. It measures the research output of business schools around the globe.

The rankings also examined eight academic specialties. Among public universities, several at Fisher were ranked in the top 25, with six of eight earning spots in the top 15:

  • Finance (#1)
  • Operations and Business Analytics (#6)
  • Accounting (#7)
  • International Business (#9)
  • Marketing (#10)
  • Strategy (#11)

In addition to 64 U.S. schools, the rankings included institutions in 13 other countries. Fisher posted a strong showing on a worldwide scale, with four specialties ranked in the top 30 globally:

  • Finance (#9)
  • Operations and Business Analytics (#12)
  • Accounting (#16)
  • Strategy (#30)

Strong representation in Financial Times journals

The college’s strong showing in the UT Dallas rankings also mirrored data from a recent paper that explored research productivity. The paper examined the “performance of disciplines, journals, authors and universities based on the number of publications in 50 business and economics journals represented in the Financial Times (FT) list from 2008 to 2022.”

Fisher ranked 29th in the world, 23rd domestically among public and private universities, and 10th among public U.S. universities. The paper also highlighted a number of individual faculty members for their research productivity in the Financial Times’ top 50 journals. 

Two Fisher faculty members were listed among all business and economics scientists with 30 or more papers in FT 50 journals across all disciplines from 2008 to 2022: René Stulz, the Everett D. Reese Chair of Banking and Monetary Economics (25th, 44 publications), and Anil Arya, the John J. Gerlach Chair in Accounting (88th, 30 publications). 

The paper also segmented and ranked researchers according to publishing within an academic discipline. Fisher’s representatives included:

Finance

  • René Stulz (1st, 39 publications)
  • Michael Weisbach (9th, 22 publications)

Operations Management

  • Aravind Chandrasekaran (10th, 20 publications)
  • Elliot Bendoly (12th, 18 publications)

Marketing

  • Greg Allenby (13th, 24 publications)

Marketing research reaches new high in AMA rankings

Allenby was also recognized for his work within marketing and logistics in a separate measure by the Doctoral Student Special Interest Group (DocSIG) at the American Marketing Association. 

In new rankings measuring research productivity, Allenby, who holds the Helen C. Kurtz Chair in Marketing, was #14 for his work in premier journals, while Rebecca Walker Reczek, the Berry Chair of New Technologies in Marketing, ranked #23.

Overall, Fisher ranked #22 in the annual ranking, which examines individual and collective research contributions to premier marketing journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, and Marketing Science.

The top-25 placement represented Fisher’s highest ranking in the past 11 years.