Which college Model UN teams are the best on the circuit? There are many definitions of success in Model UN, and awards are only one extrinsic way of measuring success. Nevertheless, awards have existed in Model UN for many years and serve to recognize individual students for their accomplishments in leadership, research, public speaking, resolution-building, negotiation, and diplomacy. The college rankings are meant to recognize entire teams for their efforts in preparing more students to succeed at more conferences, thereby improving the overall quality and expanding the Model UN activity.
Methodology
The World Division refers to the circuit of collegiate Model UN teams that are primarily run by college Head Delegates and primarily attend conferences hosted by college Model UN organizations, with the vast majority of those conferences featuring crisis committees. This ranking is only for the World Division.
The World Divsion Rankings uses a Cumulative Weighted Score Methodology. The Weighted Score Methodology is the same as in previous years with modifications in conference weightings to reflect attendance this year. Conferences included in the calculations are listed below and grouped with their approximate peer conferences in terms of weighting. Awards data were provided by the conferences, and we could only use conferences that chose to provide data.
- HNMUN
- UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN
- NCSC, CMUNNY
- NYUMUNC, BarMUN, SCSY, VICS, LAMUN, UCBMUN
- TrojanMUN, MUNE, NAMUN, &MUN
- FCMUN, CIAC, SBIMUN, QMUNI, UNCMUNC, AggieMUN, FLCS, BUCS, PUNC
We would like to note that Harvard WorldMUN chose not to be included in the dataset, and we respect their decision as the rankings go against the spirit of that conference. Therefore, the results below do not include any awards earned from WorldMUN. We also did not receive data from DISCon, PICSim, and WUMUNC, so they were not included as well.
Proposed Change to Future Methodology: Best Delegate proposes to not include WorldMUN in the rankings going forward. The conference is unlike the rest of the conferences on this circuit as it has a different mission and does not typically take place in North America. This is to maintain consistency of the conferences used to define a particular circuit and to maintain consistency of the year-over-year dataset.
Editors’ Notes
Best Delegate staff Conna Walsh, Richard Zhao, Erik Leiden, Kevin Felix Chan, Genevieve Pool, and Elaine Miao all put in a tremendous amount of work to make this year’s college rankings possible.
Before we dive in, I’d like to mention the overall competitiveness of the rankings this year. For many schools, the margins of their overall ranking were razor thin and often came down to the decimal point (equivalent to one award). My point is that rankings can be volatile and unpredictable and though it should be a matter of pride it could never define a school or a club of their circuit achievements throughout the year.
Final placement below should be compared to the 2016-2017 Final Rankings as opposed to the 2017 Fall Rankings.
1. University of Chicago
The University of Chicago has reclaimed the throne as the #1 team on the circuit by absolutely dominating from start to finish this year. The team went undefeated with a total of seven best delegation awards in seven conferences. This included the Best Large Delegation awards at four of the six most competitive conferences: HNMUN, UPMUNC, NCSC, and CMUNNY. It won a Best Small Delegation award at another one of the six most competitive conferences, McMUN. And of course, UChicago hosted the last of the six competitive conferences, ChoMUN. Furthermore, it added a Best Large from UCBMUN and a Best Small from BarMUN. The team not just upgraded its travel schedule, but more significantly it won much more this year. The team had the most gavels on the circuit, and overall put in a performance where second place wasn’t even close — its cumulative weighted score is higher than the weighted score of the #2 and #15 teams combined. The last time UChicago was #1, it pulled that feat off for three straight years. Will this be the beginning of another UChicago dynasty?
Head Delegate Corinne Riley had the following to say about her teammates: “One of our delegates, Isaac Wink, said to the team after CMUNNY: ‘Remember guys, the real metal lion is the friendships we made along the way.’ I think that really encapsulates how our team approached MUN this year. Each conference was another opportunity to get early, sleepy flights together, finally see our friends on the circuit, and have fun doing an activity that we love. While I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and success we had this year, I’m more proud that we continued our tradition of making our team a family on campus and at conferences. It’s thanks to the passion that every member on the team has that we’ve become a loving and inclusive group for so many people at UChicago. Shoutout to Aradhana Parikh for being an incredible leader and friend. I’m happy to be leaving the team in the amazing hands of the new president RJ Ruano. Let next year’s flights be later, the conferences rowdier, the mergers shorter, and the Airbnb parties longer. Goodnight moon!”
2. University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania finished the year strong with a second place overall. Intercol, as their work hard/play hard travel team is called, put up impressive performances across the board to win the most individual awards on the circuit and third most gavels this year. The team ultimately took home five large delegation awards in nine conferences. UPenn closed out the year with three Best Large Delegation awards at ChoMUN, NYUMUNC, and VICS to add to its Fall haul of a Best Large Delegation award from SCSY and an Outstanding Large Delegation award from CMUNNY. The team also contended for delegation awards at NCSC, UCBMUN, and BarMUN. Last but not least, UPenn came in second overall at HNMUN above FIU, and that performance was also the closest any team came to catching UChicago in weighted score at an individual conference. Though the team did not receive a delegation award at HNMUN likely due to ratio, it showed again that it was nevertheless one of the best teams in the world. Penn IAA also hosted UPMUNC.
UPenn’s team had this to share about their incredible season: “Though we certainly had some setbacks this year and dealt with an outrageous schedule including three straight conferences to both start and end the year, we are extremely proud of our team’s effort in continuing to fight through all forms of adversity in order to grow as Model UN delegates and, more importantly, as people. Over 50 people traveled for us this year, with almost half of them traveling for the first time this year. We’re proud of putting our ‘work hard, play hard’ culture on display, and we have had such a diverse group of experiences this past year that allowed our family to become much closer.”
3. Florida International University
For the first time in their club’s history, Florida International University finished at #3 in for final rankings after clocking in at #4 for three consecutive years. FIU traveled to a circuit-high 11 conferences this year and won a circuit-high eight delegation awards — it repeated again as the team with the most delegation awards — with those delegation awards attributed to team members winning the second most gavels and third most individual awards on the circuit. After highlighting their Fall semester with a Best Large Delegation at BarMUN and contending for delegation awards at UPMUNC, NCSC, and CMUNNY, FIU came back even stronger in the spring semester to capture an impressive seven delegation awards in one semester. This included a breakthrough Best Large Delegation at McMUN over Georgetown and George Washington, and an Outstanding Large Delegation award at HNMUN by edging UPenn on ratio. Furthermore, the team won Best Small Delegation awards at a diverse set of conferences nationwide: ChoMUN, LAMUN, UCBMUN, &MUN, and MUNE. There is a huge drop-off in cumulative weighted score between FIU and the next ranked team — FIU’s competitive peers this year were really only UChicago and UPenn.
FIU provided the following insight into their experiences this season: “This past year has been nothing short of amazing for the FIU Model United Nations Team. We have 17 seniors graduating who truly gave everything they had to this team. In the fall, we took home our first ever Best Large Delegation at a major conference when we earned that award at BarMUN. In the spring, we went 7 for 7 delegation awards in getting Best Large at McMUN, Outstanding Large at HNMUN, Best Small at UCBMUN, Best Small at MUNEmory, Best Small at &MUN, Best Small at ChoMUN, and Best Small at LAMUN. Most incredibly, we had dozens of new delegates really break through their shells and come into their own this year and they are the future of this team. We are grateful to every team that hosted us this season and put on some really exceptional conferences. Our greatest honor is competing alongside some of the most capable individuals that the collegiate circuit has to offer. We look forward to seeing you all at conferences in the fall.”
4. The George Washington University
George Washington breaks into the Top 5 of the final rankings for the first time in club history — giving the team its highest rank ever — and has displaced Georgetown as the highest ranked team in DC for the first time in rankings history. Given the opportunity to shine with a travel heavy schedule of ten conferences, its team members won many awards including the fourth most gavels on the circuit this year. GW won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at BarMUN and the Outstanding Small Delegation at ChoMUN — both times finishing better than the typically larger Georgetown team in terms of weighted score. However, its key performances were at the largest conferences where it contended for delegation awards against the top teams in the world. This included a top five finish among North American teams at HNMUN, finishing second overall at McMUN, and fourth overall at UPMUNC. The team also finished second overall at VICS and won awards at NCSC, CMUNNY, NYUMUNC, and &MUN to round out its resume.
GW Head Delegate Hari Asuri had this to share with us: “The past year has honestly been a crazy blur but the one thing I remember clearly was the amount of hard work every single member of GWMUN put into every single conference it went to. This translated into some of the best UPMUNC, MCMUN, and HNMUN performances we as a team have ever had as well as a 12 for 12 finish at CHOMUN which resulted in a delegation award. I know for a fact that many members of our team managed to balance immense personal stress and hardships and still managed to work hard and delivered one of the best years GWMUN has had performance wise in recent history. To my team thank you for your hard work! GWMUN has the momentum, and we are excited to charge straight into the 2018-2019 season.”
5. Harvard University
Harvard finished the year with a top-five ranking having won delegation awards at half of the eight conferences that it attended. The team did best at mid-sized conferences and snagged three Outstanding Large Delegation awards this year at NCSC, UCBMUN, and SCSY. It also took home the Outstanding Small Delegation award at LAMUN to give the team a pair of West Coast delegation awards. Harvard finished in the top ten at the other four conferences it attended — UPMUNC, ChoMUN, CMUNNY, and NYUMUNC — and tended to be in contention for a large delegation award at every conference. Overall, its delegates won the fourth most individual awards on the circuit this year, and that consistency enabled it to edge out Georgetown for the top five rank. Harvard IRC also hosted HNMUN Boston among many other conferences.
Co-Head Delegate Spencer Ma and Andrew Jiang were exceptionally proud of their team. “The Harvard team has always prided itself on creating long-lasting, strong team and circuit families, and this year was no exception. We took on a phenomenal freshman class that brought so much to the spirit and community of the team, and we continued to bring substantively excellent and genuine delegates to all the conferences on the circuit. In all of our years, we have never seen such active and engaged team members who certainly eclipsed our expectations we had set for the team. Not only did our team flourish at conferences to see a wide array of delegate successes, but we also extended and solidified many of the strong relationships we made with so many other collegiate teams. We are looking forward to continuing and building more friendships while traveling under the leadership of the new Head Delegates, Jenna Wong and Safa Salem.”
6. Georgetown University
Georgetown experienced a late season surge that helped it finish in sixth place in the rankings this season. GUMUN, or the “Queen of Honourable Mentions” as one Georgetown delegate jokingly proclaimed, tied for the fifth most individual awards on the circuit this year. The team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award at ChoMUN and the Best Small Delegation award at VICS to end its year on a strong note. Furthermore, the team won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at WorldMUN, which is notable though not included in the rankings. Although the team did not win a delegation award at McMUN, a conference it has traditionally dominated, it did finish first in terms of weighted score there and likely lost due to ratio. The ratio factor was likely also in play at UPMUNC, where Georgetown finished second in terms of weighted score. Those four stronger performances were rounded out with awards at four other mid-sized conferences: CMUNNY, SCSY, NYUMUNC, and BarMUN.
Georgetown provided us with the following summary of their MUN season: “The Georgetown Model UN Team was most successful this year in our ability to overcome the challenges our team faced in the 2017 Fall Season and come together as a team this past Spring. Consistently large and with a high proportion of underclassmen at each conference, it was incredible to watch our team come together as a family, work together to evolve our strategies, and ultimately find success at a number of competitive conferences. Over the last few months, we won delegation awards at WorldMUN, VICS, and ChoMUN, and also returned home with strong individual awards at CMUNNY, BarMUN, SCSY, UPMUNC, McMUN, and NYUMUNC by both our older and younger team members. Outside of traveling on the circuit, being able to spend time with our team’s vast membership each week has been a beyond rewarding staple of each of our academic years.”
7. American University
American University made a huge leap forward this year marking their first time in top 10, placing right behind DC neighbors George Washington and Georgetown. This rise is the culmination so far of sustained hard work over the past three years, consistently rising from Top 75 to #7 this year. The team performed as a top ten team throughout the year, placing within the top ten in terms of weighted score at UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN, VICS, and BarMUN, and at worst finished 11th at HNMUN (among North American teams) and at NCSC. Its best performance though came at the end of the year at NYUMUNC, where it finished first in terms of weighted score and won the Best Small Delegation award. Though American’s rise has been remarkable, that last performance may signal that the team is not done moving up the ranks yet — Georgetown and George Washington are right around the corner.
We reached out to AU and they had this to say: “This year was the most successful year in AUMUN’s history, and it’s not even close. The team added HNMUN to the conference schedule, and we managed to out-do ourselves at pretty much every single conference we went to all of second semester. It’s hard to pick a single highlight. This year we saw several delegates gavel for the first time, at ChoMUN every single person won an award, at NYUMUNC we won Best Small Delegation, HNMUN was an incredibly well run conference, and we also did pretty well there. With an invaluable and dynamic group of seniors moving on after this year, the team felt it was at a crossroads when this season started. Now, there is no doubt that this team will be able to continue building on the past successes, with an incredibly talented group of freshmen already making a name for themselves.”
8. United States Military Academy at West Point
West Point is a mainstay in the top ten of the rankings, and this year it improved to finish at #8 on the list. West Point tied with FIU for being the most well-traveled team on the circuit at 11 conferences, though West Point participated at conferences outside of the circuit too which are not counted in the rankings. West Point primarily fielded a small delegation, and it won Outstanding Small Delegation awards at NYUMUNC and at UCBMUN as well as a Best Small Delegation award at TrojanMUN. The team also contended for delegation awards at SCSY and &MUN, showing that it tends to do better at mid-sized crisis conferences. Nevertheless, they still consistently won awards at all six of the most competitive conferences, HNMUN, UPMUNC, McMUN, ChoMUN, NCSC, and CMUNNY.
Cdt. Lt. Derrick Siebman, Head Delegate of the USMA team, shared the following sentiments: “The West Point Model UN team challenged itself this year, taking on a large new class and an expanded conference schedule at the same time. We had an extraordinary group of young delegates on the team, each playing an important part in our success and offering a depth of experience for the future. An always close-knit team grew even closer with their help. We traveled to more conferences this year than ever before, winning delegation awards on both American coasts and picking up gavels in four countries. As I complete my final year, I am very proud of West Point MUN’s high level of performance and record of achievement. More than that, though, I am proud of having had the opportunity to lead a team of incredible people who are committed to high standards of character, making meaningful contributions, and competing honorably. I could not be more confident in handing leadership of the team over to John Govern, who I know will continue that tradition of excellence both in and out of committee to take West Point MUN to even greater heights.”
9. McGill University
McGill ends the year at #9, which makes this their first time in the top ten of the final rankings and therefore their highest rank ever. There are multiple reasons for this. First, the diplomatic Canadian team had its best showing ever at the most competitive conference on the circuit, HNMUN, by finishing fifth overall among all delegations and behind only UChicago, UPenn, and FIU among North American teams. Second, it took home four delegation awards in the seven conferences where it received awards, with those coming in the form of an Outstanding Large Delegation from VICS and BarMUN, a pair of Best Small Delegation awards from SCSY and NAMUN. Furthermore, it put in a top ten performance at NCSC and won awards at UPMUNC. Part of that success could be attributed to several strong gavel winners on the team, as 40% of McGill’s individual awards were gavels, the highest such ratio among the top twenty ranked teams. McGill also hosted McMUN.
Head Delegate Madeleine Kausel shared her thoughts on the team’s journey this season. “This year has been an incredibly fun and successful journey for our team. From making McGill history with our Fall ranking to experiencing a dramatically positive culture change, I couldn’t be prouder to have led such a hardworking and loving team. We were excited to attend new conferences this year and bring home a record number of delegation awards. With a newly established mentorship program, we saw not only higher levels of integration but also increased competitiveness as a result. It was amazing to watch our freshmen grow with each conference and the goodbyes to our seniors are truly bittersweet. None of our success would have been possible without our partner conferences, SSUNS and McMUN, so our team is eternally grateful for their support. I’m so excited to see everything that our team will accomplish next year under our lovely incoming Head-Delegate, Nicole Arski. McGill once, McGill twice, much love you to you all!”
10. New York University
New York University is back in the top ten of the final rankings after following up on its solid start in the Fall semester with a strong performance during the Spring semester. The team won five delegation awards — the third most delegation awards on the circuit — out of the nine conferences where it received awards. NYU competed as a small delegation, and won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at UPMUNC, McMUN, SCSY, and VICS, as well as a Best Small Delegation award at FCMUN. The team also contended for a small delegation award at ChoMUN, which ironically was their best performance of the year in terms of weighted score. The team also received individual awards at HNMUN, CMUNNY, and BarMUN, and hosted NYUMUNC.
Incoming Head Delegate Areesha Irfan shared this with us about NYU’s season: “NYU has had a wonderful year on the circuit. We started off the year with a team of almost half underclassmen and were able to pull together a wonderful family and team over the course of the year. We were incredibly excited about our delegation awards at MCMUN and VICS in the spring semester and hope to continue this success next year. We could not be more excited and happy about the year NYU has had.. A special thank you to our seniors Luxi, Dom, Jack, and Renda for an incredible few years on the team. We would not have been able to pull this family together without them. And of course a huge thanks to our incredible team, we would not have been able to do this without you all. This NYU MUN family makes traveling worth it.”
11. University of California, Los Angeles
For the second year in a row, UCLA claims the title of “Best in the West” as the highest-ranked West Coast school on the circuit, coming in at #11. UCLA consistently did well on the West Coast in a year where that was seemingly difficult to do against an influx of East Coast teams, and received the Best Large Delegation at TrojanMUN, Best Large Delegation at AggieMUN, Best Small Delegation at SBIMUN, and contended for a delegation award at UCBMUN. The team did equally well on the East Coast, putting in top ten performances at HNMUN (where it finished ahead of both Berkeley and Claremont McKenna) and at ChoMUN, and winning the Best Small Delegation at CMUNNY. In total, UCLA tied for both the fifth most delegation awards and fifth most individual awards on the circuit this year. They also hosted an increasingly competitive LAMUN to end the year.
Head Delegates Shankar Chelliah, Rishi Bhargava, and Aditya Deshpande had this to say about their team: “The credit goes entirely to the 40+ members who traveled with us and put their heart and soul into every committee they entered. The team became a family that won together, lost together and definitely partied together. Rishi, Aditya and Shankar are grateful for the opportunity to lead Travel Team this year and would like to thank the team for their passion and resilience and thank the Model UN circuit for several unforgettable memories. MUN at UCLA is looking forward to continuing growing and fostering relationships that the team will cherish for years to come.”
12. Florida State University
The Florida State World Affairs Program had a phenomenal 32nd season on the circuit and has achieved its highest rank in the history of the rankings. What seemed to define this team this year was that is fielded a well-rounded delegation, as the team consistently recorded a mix of gavels, outstandings, honorable mentions, and verbal commendations no matter what type of conference it attended. It did best in small southern crisis conferences, bringing home three Best Large Delegation awards from FLCS, MUNE, and &MUN. The team’s dominance at those conferences allowed them to finish with the fifth most gavels on the circuit this year. FSU also won solid sets of individual awards at larger conferences such as UPMUNC, McMUN, and at mid-sized conferences such as NCSC and VICS. FSU also hosted the Regional Training Conference (RTC) in the Fall.
Outgoing Team Director and senior, Taylor Zuccarello, had the following to say about the FSU team: “I could not be more proud to have led this delegation through so many conferences and am grateful to have experienced so many successful moments. This team is only going to get bigger and better from here, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the upcoming year. Go Noles!”
13. University of California, Berkeley
UC Berkeley had a very solid year in competition, moving up one spot from last year’s rank of #14 to come in ahead of West Coast rival Claremont McKenna. They kept their presence on the circuit primarily through sheer quantity, winning awards at a total of ten conferences across the country. Berkeley is the highest ranked team that did not receive a delegation award this year. However, they did contend for a delegation award at ChoMUN and put in a top ten performance at HNMUN, and received individual awards at CMUNNY, BarMUN, TrojanMUN, NCSC, UPMUNC, AggieMUN, NYUMUNC, and LAMUN. They also hosted UCBMUN.
Aric Chang, UCB’s Head Delegate, shared the following insights into the team’s performance: “UC Berkeley has continued to demonstrate its unique sense of tenacity that everyone on the circuit knows and loves by defiantly raising its fist against all odds. With a team that predominantly consisted of new members, UCBMUN has carried on in its annual 8-conference gauntlet. Kicking off the year at CMUNNY, UCBMUN has set the theme of the rest of the year by coming into Committee with some good old-fashioned Berkeley confidence despite getting lost numerous times in the jungle that is NYC and having one of its delegates fall down the stairs at a metro station. UCBMUN continued its regular migration patterns to the east coast by attending NCSC, UPMUNC, HNMUN, and ChoMUN, shaking up Committee with some California love. UCBMUN has also consistently brought sizable delegations to its fellow west coast schools, including TrojanMUN, AggieMUN, and LAMUN. This year, UCBMUN pulled through in hosting its 22nd conference in the historic streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown, and we look forward to welcoming everybody in an even better conference next March. This year, UCBMUN has valiantly embodied the true meaning of Fiat Lux by falling down the metaphorical stairs of life yet sticking the landing, obnoxiously yelling ‘Go Bears!’ after each Awards Ceremony despite the results. UCBMUN voraciously waits for what the next year has in store for us.”
14. Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna kept it competitive with West Coast rivals UCLA and UC Berkeley this year. On the West Coast, it captured the Best Large Delegation at TrojanMUN and contended for delegation awards at LAMUN and UCBMUN. On the East Coast, the team won the Best Small Delegation at NCSC and also put in solid performances at HNMUN and UPMUNC. And although WorldMUN is not included in the rankings, it is notable that Claremont McKenna regularly attends that conference and won the Best Small Delegation there this year ahead of Georgetown, with every team member winning an award at that conference.
Outgoing Head Delegate Kate Ridenour said about her team: “This year marks one of the CMCMUN team’s best performances in recent years, building on our successes in the fall with strong performances this spring. I am so proud of this team and our members’ dedication to collaboration and endless support for one another. A huge shout-out to all of our graduating seniors, you will be dearly missed. Finally, thank you to everyone for making this a phenomenal last year for me and contributing to our incredible team culture. There’s no one else I’d rather lead. #TeamComesFirst.”
15. Emory University
This year marked Emory’s return to glory and return to the Top 15 of the rankings. Emory was one of the most well traveled teams on the circuit, and its rank is due to its members consistently racking up individual awards across nine conferences. The team seemed to do better at mid-sized crisis conferences, as it contended for delegation awards at SCSY, VICS, BarMUN, and UNCMUNC. It also won awards at HNMUN, UPMUNC, ChoMUN, NCSC, and &MUN. Emory also hosted MUNE.
The outgoing Emory head delegates wanted to highlight their delegates the most: “Through countless hours of hard work, we saw amazing results from our delegates who exceeded expectations at many conferences such as HNMUN, BarMUN, UNCMUNC, and &MUN, especially the underclassmen who continue to be a strong force. Everyone’s dedication to this team is truly inspiring and we could not be more proud to call them the real stars of the show. We are eager to see what the upcoming Head Delegates, Madhumitha Baby Kumar and Mariam Hassoun will have in store for us as we continue to work with such an amazing group.
16. Yale University
Yale continued to attend three of the most competitive conferences. Its best performance was at UPMUNC, where it won the Outstanding Large Delegation award behind only UChicago. The team also competed well at HNMUN, finishing within the top ten among North American teams there, though it did not contend for a delegation award like in previous years. Yale also won awards at CMUNNY and attended WorldMUN, the latter of which is not included in the rankings. Yale also hosted SCSY.
We have this excerpt from the Yale team to share: “Once again, the Model United Nations Team at Yale (MUNTY) focused on quality over quantity. MUNTY was proud of its efforts at CMUNNY, UPMUNC (where it took home the award for Outstanding Small Delegation), HNMUN, and WorldMUN in Panama City. Perhaps more importantly, MUNTY was pleased to welcome its most diverse and talented class of new recruits in recent memory. Next year’s head delegate is sincerely looking forward to seeing where this class will take us.”
17. Boston University
The Boston University MUN team continues to be a consistently ranked team, but this year the traditionally small delegation did it with a surprise performance as a large delegation. This took place at McMUN, where the team won the Outstanding Large Delegation award by ratio in an upset over Georgetown and George Washington. The team’s other notable performances were winning the Outstanding Small Delegation award at NCSC and putting in a top ten performance at ChoMUN. It also took home awards from HNMUN, UPMUNC, and CMUNNY. The strong spring semester may hint at greater things to come for this year. BUIAA also hosted BarMUN.
Co-head delegates, Zach Thomas and Sara Van Velkinburgh, “could not be prouder of the team and are looking forward to watching the team’s future success under incoming head delegate Danielle Wallner.”
18. Michigan State University
Michigan State improved on its ranking from last year, and had a resurgent spring that allowed it to reclaim its place as the highest ranked Big Ten team on the circuit in a landmark year for Midwestern teams getting ranked. Michigan State’s most impressive performance was at McMUN, where it contended with Georgetown, George Washington, and Florida International for large delegation award status (and placed above the smaller UChicago delegation in terms of weighted score). The team also performed well at ChoMUN, and augmented its resume with successes at UPMUNC, CMUNNY, and MUNE. The latter two are new conferences on their itinerary.
Michael Downs, President of MSUIRO, had the following to say about the team: “This year has been one of growth and innovation for our delegation. Our large freshman class has been a wonderful asset for us and we are excited to bring them on our fall schedule. We are proud to be a team that is able to bring so many delegates to our conferences and maintain the cooperative, but still competitive reputation that MSU is proud of. Every year, we as a club try are tasked with navigating the level of competitiveness of our organization against the familial environment and reputation for cooperation on the circuit. We think that once again we have struck that balance in the best way possible and are looking forward to the year to come!”
19. Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt’s rank is primarily derived from having a strong Fall semester, where it took home the Best Small Delegation at UPMUNC, came in first in terms of weighted score at UNCMUNC, and won awards at CMUNNY and BarMUN. The team spent the spring semester preparing its newer delegates and took home a few awards at McMUN, NYUMUNC, and ChoMUN. The team plans to launch a new collegiate conference next year.
Vanderbilt representatives had this to share with us: “With a large influx of new members in the spring semester, we spent countless hours doing simulations and rookie prep. This paid off tremendously as we saw a steady increase in the performance of our newer members. While the graduating class boasts some of the best talent that Vanderbilt MUN has seen in recent years, we’re confident that they are leaving the team with wisdom and know-how for years to come. We took an additional year to perfect and finalize our inaugural collegiate conference, and are looking forward to welcome teams down to Nashville this February 2019.”
20. Indiana University
This is Indiana University’s first year in the Top 25, and it comes in swinging by claiming the #20 spot. Traveling to four conferences, Indiana’s team improved throughout the year and finished strong at VICS and ChoMUN. The team started the year with some awards at UPMUNC and NCSC to be within striking distance of the top 25. At VICS, Indiana tied for most gavels won and for most awards won overall, and it likely missed out on the delegation award due to ratio. And at ChoMUN, the team collected numerous awards to put in a top ten performance there. Indiana’s inclusion into the rankings make it a record-breaking three Big Ten teams in the Top 25, and the Midwest region’s best showing ever.
President of IndianaMUN John Chen shared these sentiments about his team: “Over the past year, IndianaMUN has undergone a tremendous period of growth, first debuting among the circuit’s top 30 teams in Fall 2017 and continuing our momentum to win more than double the awards during Spring 2018 than we have had over our entire 5-year history. Thanks to our success in revamping how it carries out Crisis training, to our ever-increasing amount of experienced delegates, we were able to bring home 17 individual awards from ChoMUN and VICS. I, as well as the rest of our Board of Directors, look forward to helping develop our organization’s extremely promising younger cadre of delegates, who played integral roles in our breakout performances this year. By continuing our reworked model of MUN education, to pushing for more new members to go to collegiate conferences, to developing and improving the skills of our older delegates, we hope to establish IndianaMUN as a consistent presence in the top 25 teams on the circuit.”
21. University of Southern California
After breaking into the Top 25 in the Fall for the first time under past president Zoie Petrakis, the University of Southern California not just maintained but improved on its performance in the spring to make its debut in the Final Top 25 rankings. Their biggest successes were in their home state of California, where they won Outstanding Large Delegation awards at LAMUN and SBIMUN, an Outstanding Small Delegation award at AggieMUN, and awards at UCBMUN. But the team upgraded its East Coast conference schedule significantly, and won awards at UPMUNC, McMUN, and NCSC too. The organization looks to continue increasing its national presence for both its travel team and its conference, TrojanMUN.
USC’s President Rahul Francis commented on USC’s landmark performance this year: “During the 2017-18 season, the team truly epitomized the USC slogan of “Fight On!” Our explosive growth proved to be an asset to our team’s spirit and performance. We hope to see even more friendly faces from USC’s expanded circuit presence this season at TrojanMUN 2018!”
22. University of Virginia
UVA is now a consistent team in the Top 25 rankings. The team seems top heavy, sometimes walking away from conferences with only gavels like it did at NCSC and UCBMUN. The team also won awards at UPMUNC, ChoMUN, CMUNNY, and &MUN. UVA showed off a work hard/play hard mentality, both actively participating in committee and maintaining a strong social presence outside it. UVA also hosted VICS.
Outgoing head delegate Devansh Agarwal had this to say about his team: “This past year has been such a successful and fulfilling journey for UVA’s team. With a strong first year class, UVA has steadily improved as a team and hopes to take the next season with a storm. Our team is more than a competitive Model UN team, we’re best friends; and that’s what makes traveling as a team so much fun. Here’s to more successful conferences, growth of the team as a whole, and ever-lasting friendships under the leadership of next year’s Head Delegate, Ishaan Veen. Team, good luck next year. Go Hoos!”
23. Northwestern University
This is Northwestern’s first year in the Top 25, a dramatic rise after having been in Top 75 for the past two years. This also makes it a record-breaking three Big Ten teams in the Top 25, and the Midwest region’s best showing ever. Surprisingly, all of Northwestern’s awards were from outside of the Midwest. The team won awards at UPMUNC in the Fall and NYUMUNC and UCBMUN in the Spring. But the key performance was at HNMUN, where the team competed above expectations against some of the world’s best teams and put in a top ten finish among North American teams there.
“Northwestern’s Collegiate Model United Nations delegation performed its best yet in its brief time competing on the national circuit. Under the leadership of rising senior Michelle David, the team made a strong showing at the four conferences it attended, netting multiple awards at each for the delegation. By setting the stage as a competitive team at UPMUNC, the Northwestern delegation pushed itself at HNMUN, where the team made a mark for itself as a real up-and-comer. Creating a sense of family on the team was the key to this year’s success, and the members drive to success pushed everyone to improve. As the team continues next year, under the leadership of Director of Competition Isaac Bykhovsky and next year’s head delegates, it will continue to grow as a highly competitive MUN organization. Through the dedication of passionate team members, Northwestern’s delegation is more excited than ever to further strengthen its team.”
24. Northeastern University
Northeastern followed its first year on the Best Delegate Top 25 list with a repeat Top 25 performance to show that last year was no fluke. The team added UPMUNC and FCMUN to its travel schedule to supplement BarMUN, McMUN, and HNMUN. The team consistently won awards regardless if the conference was large or small. One of their best performances came at FCMUN.
Northeastern also finished first at both the International Model NATO conference and the National University Model Arab League Conference. In addition to the success seen with awards, Northeastern’s Model UN team has been proud to continue to stress the educational value that model simulations can have for delegates, and working to elevate the debate in every room to be more substantive and reflective of the institutions being simulated.
25. The University of Miami
The U clings onto the final spot of Top 25 this year by consistently putting up respectable showings at the most competitive conferences, including UPMUNC and CMUNNY in the Fall and HNMUN and ChoMUN in the spring. The team is going through a series of structural changes to develop their underclassmen, and they will have a chance to shine next year. Miami will be launching a college conference, 305MUN, this coming Fall.
Karthik and Pocho, Head Delegates of the U this year, shared their thoughts on their team’s successes: “In a year that included shortening our MUN calendar due to Hurricane Irma, our Hurricanes fought back to succeed at every conference we attended. This year, our underclassmen proved their skill conference after conference as the team dealt with a very small senior class. Throughout each committee session, Author’s Panel, and Crisis Update, our members continuously strove for (and achieved) success. Beyond competing, we hosted two High-School conferences: MDMUN and MICSUN, both of which had some of their best years yet with record-breaking attendances and experiences for the delegates. Next year, we are ready to take the circuit by storm with a powerful senior class and motivated underclassmen to match! We are also very excited to be hosting 305MUN in October!
Top 50 (Alphabetized)
These are teams that consistently have individual award winners across several conferences, particularly the larger and more competitive ones, and may have even captured a delegation award or two. The five teams closest to cracking into the top 25 were: The Ohio State University, College of William & Mary, University of Toronto, Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, respectively.
Brown University
Carleton University
Case Western Reserve University
Clark University
College of the Canyons
College of William & Mary
Columbia University
Concordia University
Ithaca College
John Abbott College
Johns Hopkins University
The Ohio State University
Pomona College
Queen’s University
Ryerson University
United States Air Force Academy
University of Alabama
University of California, Davis
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Michigan
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Toronto
Washington University in St. Louis
Top 75 (Alphabetical Order)
These are teams that occasionally have individual award winners at several conferences or won a few awards at larger conferences.
Bates College
Cornell University
Hamilton College
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Kutztown University
Middlebury College
Miami University of Ohio
Mount Allison University
Mount Holyoke University
Northern Arizona University
Oakland University
Princeton University
Rutgers University
Seton Hall University
Stanford University
State University of New York at Geneseo
Tufts University
Université de Montréal – Faculté de Droit
University Central Florida
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Connecticut
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Ottawa
Western University
**
Congratulations to all the teams! Good luck to the graduating seniors, and we hope everyone else enjoys their summer break. We’ll see you all on the circuit again next Fall!
