News

Durham University rises in world rankings

(27 October 2005)

Durham University has risen in the global university rankings by 45 places in the latest analysis put together by the Times Higher Education Supplement.

Durham was named 83rd best university in the world - up from 128 last year. It is the 11th highest UK university in the list.

The rankings use the results of a survey of 2,375 academics from across the world. These are combined with a series of measures including the number of times that research papers are cited by academics, staff-to-student ratios and number of students and staff from overseas.

This year's analysis includes for the first time a measure based on the views of international employers on which universities they prefer to recruit from.

Durham University’s Vice-Chancellor Sir Kenneth Calman said: "We are very pleased with this substantial rise from 128 to 83 in the THES world rankings, which reaffirms Durham's performance in other recent league tables.

"It reflects both the quality of Durham's contribution to international academic life and the recognition worldwide for it.

"This success owes a great deal to our performance in the science strand of the THES survey, which ranked Durham at the top of the citation table."

The recent THES international survey concluded that science research at Durham University has more impact worldwide than work at any other British university, including Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London.

The THES annual science report ranks Durham at the top of the citation table - the measure that reflects how research across all fields of science generates attention and influence and is referred to in other researchers’ publications.

The science and overall world rankings come shortly after Durham was named University of the Year in The Sunday Times university guide.

The survey shows that the UK is home to 24 of the top 200 universities, second only to the US with 54 and ahead of Australia, in third place with 17. Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were first and second respectively.