Arts and Sciences shine in QS World Rankings
The University of Sydney has cemented its place among the top 50 universities globally in the latest QS World University Rankings, with strong results for Arts and Humanities and Life Sciences and Medicine.
Leading the University’s results were Arts and Humanities, which achieved a rank of equal 14th globally and second in Australia, after ANU.
Both Life Sciences and Medicine and Social Sciences and Management were ranked 20th in the world, with Life Sciences and Medicine also maintaining their standing as second in Australia for the third year running.
The multi-disciplinary strength of the University’s research was confirmed in the QS results, with Engineering and Technology, Natural Sciences and Social Science and Management all ranked in the top five for their disciplines in Australia, each receiving a ranking of third domestically. Engineering and Technology also rose 14 places in the rankings from joint 44th to joint 30th globally.
Overall the University of Sydney retains its position as third in Australia, with a global ranking of 45, slightly down on previous years as a result of major changes to the QS methodology.
In 2015 QS significantly altered their methodology for subject and overall rankings, influencing the ranking of many Australian universities.
The Quacquerelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings began in 2004, and consider more than 3,000 institutions worldwide. The annual rankings measure such factors as academic reputation, citation statistics, international mix and staff-student ratios.
Changes to the QS methodology included normalising citation scores, to the benefit of those universities with strong citations spread evenly across disciplines, as well as the exclusion from the official results of publications with more than 10 institutional affiliations, lowering the overall publication count for universities with a large number of collaborators in its published research.
“QS is particularly sensitive to reputational effects, so we should be proud that so many of our colleagues around the world think highly of our research and teaching,” said Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Duncan Ivison.
“Although we always need to treat rankings exercises with care it is pleasing to see the outstanding results for so many of our areas, especially the arts and humanities and the life sciences and medicine. The improvement in other areas also augurs well for the future – including in engineering, the social sciences and management.”
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