University of Tartu is among top five universities of emerging Europe and Central Asia

Today, one of the most important university ranking list compilers, QS University Rankings released its Emerging Europe and Central Asia 2014/15 rankings, where the University of Tartu is holding the record-high 5th position.  

“Such a high position is a great recognition to the University of Tartu as a whole and proves the high level of our research and teaching. I am glad to see that we are highly appreciated among countries characterised by rapidly developing universities and landscape of higher education,” commented Reesi Lepa, Head of International Cooperation of the University of Tartu, delighted about the news. 

This is the first time the QS ranked the 100 best universities of emerging Europe and Central Asia. The first in the new ranking list is Lomonosov Moscow State University. Charles University and Novosibirsk State University share the second and third position. The fourth is the University of Warsaw. The University of Tartu and Czech Technical University in Prague share the 5th and 6th position.

According to Ben Sowter, Head of Research at QS, universities in the emerging Europe and Central Asia are beginning to add depth to the landscape of global higher education. “They are no longer just competing nationally; they are reaching out to the world, driving innovation and marketing their unique strengths like never before. Inevitably, they are becoming increasingly attractive to students.”

In the course of compiling this ranking list, 368 universities from 30 countries were analysed. Universities from 18 countries made it to the top 100. From the Baltic states, four Lithuanian, three Latvian and two Estonian universities feature in the top 100. The second Estonian university in the ranking is Tallinn University of Technology (26th).

In the process of preparing the ranking list, QS takes into account the survey among academic leaders and heads of institutions of higher education, the proportion of students and lecturers, the university as the employer, the significance of academic publications, the percentage of foreign lecturers and international students.

The detailed ranking list is available on the QS web page.

In September 2014, QS published the new global university ranking list, in which the University of Tartu held the highest position ever, the 379th.

In addition to the general ranking, QS also ranks the universities of the world in five subjectareas. The University of Tartu is represented in two: in arts and humanities, the UT shares the 302nd position, and in social sciences and management the UT is the 394th. The QS also ranks the best universities in 30 subjects. Estonia features in the top rankings of three subjects: the position of the University of Tartu is 51–100 in Communication and Media Studies and 151–200 in both Modern Languages and History.

Additional information: Reesi Lepa, Head of International Cooperation, University of Tartu, tel:  372 737 6123, +372 504 4190, email: reesi.lepa@ut.ee.

Egle Merbach
Senior Specialist for PR at UT
Phone: +372 737 5509
Mobile: +372 58 6686 77