Which college Model UN teams are the best on the circuit? There are many definitions of success in Model UN, and awards are not the purpose of Model UN. 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. These rankings recognize teams for their efforts in preparing more students to succeed at more conferences and build the skills necessary to win awards in Model UN, thereby improving Model UN for all of its participants.
The North American collegiate Model United Nations community is informally divided into two circuits, which we refer to as the National Division and the World Division.
- The National Division teams tend to be led by faculty advisors, focus on the academic and educational aspects of the conference, and attend about 2-3 organization-hosted conferences per year that give out many school awards but de-emphasize competition by usually not formally giving out individual awards from appointed chairs.
- The World Division teams tend to be led by college head delegates, focus on the competitive and social aspects of the conference, and attend about 5-6 college-hosted conferences per year (with a majority of them being crisis simulations) that give out many individual awards but only a few school awards. More details about both divisions can be found here.
For the first time in the college recognition piece, we will feature the delegation award winner(s) from the first North American UN4MUN conference. UN4MUN conferences use actual UN procedures, focus on building consensus (one resolution adopted without needing a vote), and are run by elected chairs. You can read more about UN4MUN simulations here.
Fall 2015 North American College Recognition (National Division)
Notable fall conferences in the National Division include NMUN DC, AMUN, SRMUN, and NWMUN Seattle. There is little overlap among teams at these conferences until they get to NMUN NY, so it does not make sense to rank them. There is also only a slight overlap among the teams at these conferences with the teams attending World Division conferences, so it does not make sense to combine these two circuits, especially since their values regarding competition differ significantly. We will post the all the delegation awards for these conferences (including international delegations) as they become available. Please note that these conferences often give delegation awards by country, not by school, so many delegations will receive multiple “delegation awards”, as will be denoted in each section. Also, in line with their educational philosophy AMUN does not wish to emphasize awards, so we will not be posting their awards here.
NMUN DC
Outstanding Delegations:
Irvine Valley College (2x)
California State University-Northridge
The University of Texas at Dallas
Clemson University
Collin College
University of Calgary (2x)
Bogomolets National Medical University
Santiago Canyon College
Distinguished Delegations:
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (x2)
University of Bridgeport
University of Colorado at Boulder
Syracuse University-Maxwell School
West Virginia University
University of New Haven (x2)
Hunter College-City University of New York (x2)
Uzhgorod National University
Osgood Center for International Studies
Montgomery College (x2)
West Virginia University
Salisbury University
Florida Atlantic University
Honorable Mention Delegations:
Mills College
Pace University New York City
Randolph-Macon College
Hostos Community College-CUNY
De La Salle University-Manila
Dawson College
Samford University
University of Colorado at Boulder
Stockton University
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
KEDGE Business School
Santiago Canyon College
Northwestern Polytechnical University
Texas Christian University (x2)
Manhattan College
Osgood Center for International Studies
Virginia Wesleyan College
Louisiana State University International Relations Club
SRMUN Atlanta
Outstanding Delegations:
College of Charleston
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Florida
Distinguished Delegations:
Georgia State University
University of Florida (x2)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte (x2)
Honorable Delegations:
Georgia Institute of Technology (x2)
Georgia State University (x2)
Pace University at Pleasantville
Santa Fe College (x2)
State College of Florida
University of Florida
University of North Alabama
University of North Carolina at Pembroke (x2)
NWMUN Seattle
Distinguished Delegations:
Florida Atlantic University (Head Delegate: Yuval Manor; Adviser: Paola Hernandez-Ramos)
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Fall 2015 North American College Recognition (UN4MUN)
The WFUNA International Model United Nations (WIMUN) conference was held at UN Headquarters in New York. It featured delegates from fifty countries, but the Secretary-General’s award for best large university delegation went to a North American university.
Best Large Delegation: Carleton University
Best Small Delegation: University of Ljubljana
Fall 2015 North American College Rankings (World Division)
Methodology
The Weighted Score Methodology is the same as in previous years with minor modifications in weightings to reflect attendance this year. The article above also provides insight into the purpose and philosophy behind the rankings. Fall conferences were weighted in this order:
- UPMUNC
- NCSC and CMUNNY
- SCSY and BarMUN
- TrojanMUN
- SBIMUN and DISCon
CMUNNY and NCSC are now weighted evenly based on recent growth and attendance of ranked teams. BarMUN has continued to steadily increase in terms of conference weighting as it has gotten more competitive every year and this year is weighted evenly with SCSY. We currently do not have awards data from CIAC, though we would be happy to incorporate that data into these rankings as well.
It is important to note that we use aggregate weighted scoring while many conferences use a ratio in their scoring methodology. Please keep in mind these scoring differences as you read the following narratives- our rankings of for example “2nd Place” at a conference is in terms of total weighted awards, and may not match with the Outstanding Large Delegation at that conference.
It is also important to note that schools that host collegiate conferences in the fall were unable to compete at these conferences. However, 7 of the top 10 teams will host collegiate conferences at some point this year- most are just in the second half of the year.
Best Delegate’s Media Associate for North America Serena Frechter helped lead this project and collect the awards data. Thank you also to the Secretaries-General of each of the conferences for their support of this project and for sharing their award lists.
Let’s meet our top 75 World Division Model UN teams for the fall season.
1. University of Chicago
The University of Chicago, the defending champion on the circuit, has retained its place atop the College Model UN Rankings for the third consecutive fall. After winning Best Large Delegation at CMUNNY to kick off their season, UChicago went on to win Outstanding Large at both NCSC and UPMUNC, taking home large delegation awards at the three most competitive conferences of the semester. Although the team is not undefeated like last fall, it was the only team to win a large delegation award at every conference it attended, and the team has the most individual awards on the circuit. While the team lost many All-Star seniors last year, they’ve managed to bring in a strong fresh crop to take the lead, keeping their place atop the rankings. The University of Chicago will be hosting ChoMUN during the Spring semester.
2. Harvard University
Harvard is having another strong season and matched its all-time high rank of #2 on the circuit. Harvard won the Best Large Delegation award at NCSC and the Outstanding Large Delegation award at CMUNNY. The team also came close to winning two more large delegation awards — one at UPMUNC, where it finished third in terms of total individual awards won, and the other at BarMUN, where it finished third in terms of total weighted score. Overall, the team took home the second most individual awards on the circuit this semester, and that helped the team edge Georgetown for the semester despite the head-to-head result at UPMUNC. Harvard will go on to host the largest and most competitive conference on the circuit next semester at HNMUN Boston in addition to hosting WorldMUN in Rome and HNMUN Latin America in Mexico City.
The Georgetown team traveled to three conferences this semester and brought home the third most individual awards of any team. The team started with a top 10 performance at CMUNNY, but improved quickly to take home the Best Large Delegation award at BarMUN. It ended its semester by winning the Best Large Delegation award at UPMUNC, the most competitive conference of the semester. The UPMUNC victory gives Georgetown a case as the best team on the circuit when head-to-head matchups with UChicago and Harvard are used instead of aggregate scoring. That said, Georgetown hosted NCSC this fall, and it will have a chance to make up its aggregate score and leap the two teams ranked above it as both have yet to host their respective conferences.
4. Florida International University
Florida International University kept up its status as a P5 level delegation by being among the top five teams at each of the three most competitive conferences of the semester. Competing as a small delegation, FIU took Best Small Delegation at CMUNNY with nearly every member of their delegation taking home awards. FIU then went on to a third-place finish at NCSC behind only the two large delegation award winners, Harvard and UChicago. Finally, it put in a top five performance at UPMUNC and contended for a delegation award there. Next up for the team will be attempting to win the Outstanding Large Delegation award (or better) for the third year in a row at HNMUN.
5. New York University
NYU retained their place in the top 5 following a very busy season where it competed at more conferences than any other team this semester. The team took home three small delegation awards from those five conferences, including Best Small Delegation at BarMUN, Outstanding Small Delegation at SCSY, and Outstanding Small Delegation at NCSC. In addition, the team finished third overall in terms of weighted score and contended for a delegation award at crosstown CMUNNY. Finally, the team ended their season in Philadelphia with a top 10 finish at UPMUNC. NYU will be hosting NYUMUNC during the Spring semester.
6. United States Military Academy at West Point
West Point proved it is still one of the top small delegations on the circuit despite increased competition in that category this year. That said, West Point’s biggest win was actually a Best Large Delegation at SCSY, where it put on a dominating performance with 5 gavels (no other school had more than two). The team also won an Outstanding Small Delegation award at CMUNNY. It also managed top 10 performances at both NCSC and UPMUNC, the two larger conferences of the semester, though it did not win a small delegation award at either conference. West Point will be hosting WPMUNI in the spring.
7. Yale University
Yale switched up their schedule to all Ivy League conferences in the fall, trading NCSC for CMUNNY, and was one of several teams contributing to the increase of CMUNNY’s weighting. MUNTY started with a top 10 finish at CMUNNY. It then hosted SCSY, one of the more competitive conferences of the semester. Finally, it came in third place overall at UPMUNC behind only the two large delegation award winners, Georgetown and UChicago, and ahead of rival Harvard in terms of weighted score. Yale will continue its Ivy League schedule and large conference specialization when it heads to HNMUN in the spring semester.
8. University of Miami
The University of Miami has broken into the top 10 for the first time after a very successful run competing at the three most competitive conferences of the semester. The U had a promising start to the season with top 10 performances at CMUNNY and NCSC, and barely missed out on a small delegation award at the latter as they came up short by one award to the two small delegation award winners, NYU and Clark. But Miami stormed back at UPMUNC — where they won Outstanding Small Delegation last year — to take home the Best Small Delegation this time with nearly their entire team winning individual awards.
9. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley maintained a spot in the top 10 and is now the highest ranked team from the West Coast. But don’t mistake it for a West Coast team — Berkeley probably has the most airline miles of any team in the country, and their two cross-country flights yielded great results. Berkeley won the Outstanding Small Delegation at UPMUNC and won numerous awards at CMUNNY. Closer to home in California, Berkeley came in second in terms of weighted score at TrojanMUN and contended for the Best Large Delegation award there. UC Berkeley will host UCBMUN next semester.
10. Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt’s team has catapulted into the top 10 of the rankings based on the strength of consistent top 10 performances across every conference the team attended this semester, which is even more impressive because those conferences were on three consecutive weekends in October. Vanderbilt came in the top 10 at both CMUNNY and BarMUN and had their most successful performance at SCSY, where they finished tied for the second most gavels and tied for third overall. They are the highest ranked team that did not attend UPMUNC, possibly because their high school conference took place a weekend earlier.
11. George Washington University
GW had a new batch of Colonial Cadets and a strong start for the school year. Their most successful conference was right at home during NCSC. This local conference for them is normally a training conference for the new Colonial Cadets, yet the team finished fourth overall at the conference and contended for a delegation award. GW collected a solid number of awards at CMUNNY and UPMUNC as well to round off their resume. This promising start could help them get back into the top 10 in the spring.
12. Florida State University
Florida State attended BarMUN for the first time and won the Outstanding Small Delegation award. However, that award may not necessarily represent FSU’s strong performance there as they won the most gavels at that conference and came in first overall in terms of weighted scores if verbal commendations are counted, meaning they did better than top teams such as Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, and Michigan State. The team also had a top-10 finish at NCSC to cap off a strong fall semester. FSU’s rank gives the state of Florida three teams in the top 12 — more than the Ivy League.
13. Clark University
Normally a team that performs their best in the second semester at Harvard, Clark had a remarkable fall this year finishing ten places higher than last fall. Starting with a top-10 performance at hometown BarMUN, Clark then went on to win Best Small Delegation at NCSC, finishing 6th overall even though they competed with a small team. Clark then capped off the season with a strong performance at UPMUNC, and will head to what is usually their strong conference, HNMUN, going into next semester.
14. Columbia University
Columbia’s biggest achievement might be hosting CMUNNY, which has become one of the fastest-growing conferences of the fall and has increased in competitiveness over the years. Hosting aside, Columbia put on its best performance at SCSY, where it took home the second most awards to finish behind Best Large winner West Point and ahead of all other delegation award winners. The team also did well at UPMUNC to finish their fall semester.
15. University of Virginia
This is the University of Virginia’s highest ranking ever after making it into the top 25 for the first time at the end of last year. Their ranking is backed by a strong performance at DISCon, where they dominated the likes of Emory, UNC Chapel Hill, and William & Mary to win nearly half the gavels and the Best Delegation award. UVA also finished in the top 10 in a competitive CMUNNY and got on the scoreboard at NCSC. The University of Virginia will host VICS this spring.
16. Emory University
Emory has had an especially busy season by competing at four conferences. Emory got on the scoreboard at UPMUNC and NCSC. Down in the South they came in third for awards at Duke’s DISCon. Emory’s best performance, however, came at SCSY this year, where they won Outstanding Large Delegation and tied for the second most gavels. Emory will host their fourth edition of MUNE this spring.
17. University of California, Los Angeles
The continued development of TrojanMUN and SBIMUN benefits West Coast schools that previously had no local conference to attend in the fall semester just a few years ago, and UCLA went full-force in capitalizing on these opportunities. UCLA took home the Best Small Delegation award from TrojanMUN and the Outstanding Delegation Award from SBIMUN, giving them more delegation awards than any West Coast team this semester and a return to the Top 25 for the first time in several years. UCLA will host LAMUN this spring semester.
18. Princeton University
Princeton delegates took home awards at UPMUNC and DISCon. Princeton’s top performance by far, however, was at SCSY, where Princeton tied for the second most gavels and finished tied for third place overall in terms of weighted score. Princeton’s young team is showing that last year’s entrance into the top 25 rankings is no fluke, and this is a team that could continue to rise in the rankings. Princeton will host PICSim in the spring semester.
19. University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania hosted UPMUNC, the largest and most competitive conference of this semester. In terms of travel conferences, Penn had top-10 performances at NCSC and BarMUN and won awards at CMUNNY. Last year, Penn put on stronger performances in the spring semester than in the fall semester and was able to improve its final ranking. Will the team accomplish a similar feat this year?
20. Claremont McKenna College
Claremont McKenna is one of the best West Coast teams after taking home the Best Large Delegation award at TrojanMUN, where they topped West Coast rivals Berkeley, UCLA, and Stanford. Claremont McKenna also made it out to UPMUNC and took home a few awards for their team. However, they finished far behind UC Berkeley there. Consistent performances across both in-state and out-of-state conferences could help the team regain its recent trend of being the top West Coast team.
21. McGill University
McGill is the top Canadian team in the rankings. McGill had a busy season as it took home awards at BarMUN, CMUNNY, and NCSC. McGill’s best performance of the semester, however, was taking home Best Small Delegation from SCSY along where they tied for the second most gavels. That practically gave them awards at every East Coast conference except UPMUNC, which conflicted with their high school SSUNS conference. McGill will host McMUN to kick off the spring semester.
22. Boston University
BU kicked off the semester by hosting the largest-ever BarMUN, with an increasing competitive field of participants. Though the team didn’t compete much this semester, BU still managed a top-10 performance at UPMUNC, the most competitive conference of the semester. Boston University is the only team in these rankings to only take home awards at one conference this semester, making it the most “efficient” team in the top-25.
23. American University
This is American University’s first breakthrough into the top 25 after several top 50 appearances in the previous college MUN rankings. American brought home awards from the two most competitive conferences so far this season at UPMUNC and NCSC. This included a top 10 finish at NCSC, which was held a few metro stops away from campus. American’s appearance in the rankings gives DC three top 25 teams.
24. Michigan State University
Michigan State has returned to the rankings after another successful BarMUN, where they won Outstanding Large Delegation in addition to 2 gavels, including the Ad Hoc gavel. MSU also took home a few awards from UPMUNC this year, returning to their seat as top Big Ten MUN team in the rankings this fall.
25. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Another new entry to the Top 25, UNC Chapel Hill brought home 2 gavels from rival Duke’s conference, DISCon, this year en route to winning the Outstanding Delegation award there. UNC also finished right outside the top 5 at BarMUN this semester. The team will host UNCMUNC in the spring semester.
Top 50 Outstanding Delegations (Alphabetical Order)
The five teams closest to breaking into the Top 25 were: Rutgers University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Southern California, Mount Holyoke College, and Case Western Reserve University.
Boston College
Case Western Reserve University
College of William and Mary
Cornell University
Duke University
Emmanuel College
Georgia Tech
Ithaca College
Johns Hopkins
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke
Northeastern University
The Ohio State University
Pomona College
Queen’s University
Rutgers University
Seton Hall University
Stanford University
State University of New York Geneseo
Tulane University
United States Naval Academy
University of Southern California
University of Central Florida
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Washington University in St. Louis
Top 75 Honorable Mention Delegations (Alphabetical Order)
Brown University
California Lutheran University
California State University of Long Beach
College of the Canyons
Diablo Valley College
Hartwick College
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Radford University
San Diego State University
Santa Monica College
Soka University of America
Swarthmore College
Tufts University
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Diego
University of Alabama
University of Cincinnati
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Kansas
University of New Mexico
Virginia Tech
Washington College
Congratulations to all the teams! Good luck with final exams, enjoy your winter break, and see you back on the circuit next semester!
