Nationally, Penn State is the third leading university contributing to society, according to a Washington Monthly study that researched the impact Penn Staters have outside State College.

The study took social mobility, service and research into account.

"We have done well earlier in this ranking, and this bumps us up higher," Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said. "This makes us very elite."

Last year, Penn State ranked sixth.

Only Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of California-Berkeley edged out Penn State this year.

The system aims to evaluate societal contributions produced by various institutions.

The three criteria were broken into subcategories that determined the overall ranking. Within the service division, involvement in the ROTC, the Peace Corps and the amount of work-study funds spent on public service projects were considered.

"Social mobility means it is helping less affluent students graduate and become more affluent later in life," T.A. Frank, consulting editor of Washington Monthly, said.

Frank said other rankings, like the one in U.S. News and World Report, which ranks Penn State 48th, fail to recognize important aspects of college life.

"U.S. News measures what you get for your tuition dollars," he said. "Penn State gets a lot of money from non tuition-paying people. I want to know whether it's doing well by doing good."

According to Washington Monthly's statistics, Penn State is going "the extra mile," Frank said. Currently, the university ranks ninth in research and second in social mobility.

"U.S. News might show me that Penn State has a wonderful campus, but that doesn't tell us how it is really doing," Frank said.

Research was also taken into consideration in terms of grants and doctorates. Currently, Penn State ranks 10th in grants with $533 million and awarded 393 doctorates last year.

Frank said he believes the list should be taken as seriously as other rankings when viewed by prospective students.

"If you mean should I go to Penn State or Yale, I'm not sure. It's nice to know whether there's a service ethic at the school," he said. "Penn State acts like a school that doesn't just chase tuition dollars but is very helpful for the rest of us."

The publication of the list may help Penn State gain attention for societal contributions, Frank said.

"I'd be more likely to give to Penn State than to Princeton," he said. "It rewards schools like Penn State and turns the screws on places like Princeton."

State College Mayor Bill Welch said he is also proud of the ranking.

"It's better than being number 334," he said. "I think it's refreshing that someone is looking at society instead of who is the top party school or who has the best football town. It's a real change of pace."

Some students are also thrilled with the progress of the university they call home.

"I think it's good. Everyone seems really motivated," Alex Moerlein (graduate-mechanical engineering) said. "All of my professors are really sharp."

Others have chosen to stay with the university because of the contributions it brings to the world.

"I think we do lots of research. There's a lot of it going on and in a lot of different departments," Jessica White, a 2006 graduate doing biology research, said. "I like it. That's why I'm still here."

The study is based on number crunching rather than qualitative observation.

"This looks at what kind of things students, faculty and the institution give back to the country," Mahon said. "It is the kind of institution we are and the kind of stuff we graduate and what they do in the world after graduation."