“Outstanding achievement” for Birkbeck in THE global league table
College ranked within top 250 universities in the world
Birkbeck has ranked within the top 250 universities in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) 2015-16 World University Rankings, published this week.
Birkbeck’s position in the global league table —which also places Birkbeck joint 35th out of 78 UK institutions in the ranking and 8th in London — has been described by THE as “an outstanding achievement to be celebrated”.
Widely considered as the most influential university league table in the world, the annual THE World University Ranking rates institutions across their core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
Birkbeck’s standing in this year’s ranking follows a number of significant achievements for the College in the past 12 months, beginning with the College’s strong performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise. An in-depth analysis of research environment and quality at universities across the UK, the REF 2014 placed Birkbeck 30th in the UK for research, with 73% of its research rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
Other recent successes include:
- Birkbeck’s School of Arts being rated number one in the UK by students for key aspects of its teaching in the National Student Survey (NSS)
- The College taking the top spot in London for graduate employment for part-time students in an analysis by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
- Birkbeck’s placement within the top 10 of London’s best universities, and the UK’s top 40 institutions, in the influential QS World Ranking league table
Professor David Latchman, Master of Birkbeck, University of London, said:
“Ranking prominently within the world’s top 250 universities is an outstanding achievement for Birkbeck. I am also delighted to see the College once again holding its own prominently within the nation’s capital and the UK at large. Britain remains a globally-recognised hub of excellence in the university sector, and to maintain our high standing in an ever-evolving marketplace is immensely gratifying.
“The holistic approach taken by THE in its methodology makes this ranking a particularly powerful league table, one which aptly demonstrates our continuing mission to foster and maintain research and teaching environments across the College which are of the highest order.”
Phil Baty, editor of the THE World University Rankings, said:
“The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, now in their 12th year, apply rigorous standards, using tough global benchmarks across all of a global research university’s key missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The results are trusted by students and their families, academics, university leaders and governments. For Birkbeck, University of London to make 201-250 in the world is an outstanding achievement to be celebrated.”
UPDATE (22 October 2015): Arts and humanities courses at Birkbeck have been ranked third best in London and 11th in the UK in the THE 2015-16 World University Subject Rankings.
Worldwide, the courses — which includes the School of Arts’ literature, theatre and cultural studies programmes, plus the School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy’s archaeology, classics, history, linguistics and philosophy programmes — have been ranked 52nd in the world. Read the full story here.
Find out more
- Times Higher Education 2015-16 World University Rankings
- Birkbeck’s performance in the REF 2014 exercise
- HESA employment survey 2015
- NSS Survey 2015