Starting from 2010 SUSU has been holding a status of a National Research University. In 2015 the university became one of the Russian universities chosen for participation in Project 5-100 aiming at improving the competitive standing of Russian universities. In 2018, South Ural State University for the first time in its history was included into the Ranking of the World's Best Universities drawn by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) consulting company from Great Britain.