University of Tartu keeps rising in world university rankings

The University of Tartu (UT) has once again improved its position in the prestigious QS World University Rankings published today, reaching 314^th place. Compared to last year, UT has improved its position by 33 places.

Compared to 2015, UT has moved up a total of 65 places. Considering the fact that there are nearly 26,000 universities in the world, this places UT among the top 1.2%.

The international consultation firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which prepares the list, uses six indicators when ranking universities: the university’s reputation among academic leaders and employers (40% and 10% of the total mark respectively); ratio of academic staff to students (20%); the influence of scientific publications, i.e. the number of references per academic employee (20%); and the ratio of foreign students and foreign employees (5% of the total mark each).

UT improved its place in four out of the six QS indicators. The rise in the “university’s reputation among academic leaders and employers” indicator is particularly noteworthy (90 places compared to last year). The university has also risen in the “ratio of academic staff to students” and “ratio of foreign students” indicators, by 26 and 21 places, respectively. In the scientific influence indicator (“number of references per academic employee”) UT improved its position by 10 places.

When preparing the list, QS took 4000 universities into consideration, of which 980 were listed. First place went once again to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by Stanford University and Harvard University. The University of Cambridge, ranked fifth, is the best-performing European university.

The full list is visible on the QS World University Rankings 2017/18 website.
More information on the method is available on the QS website.

Additional information: Erik Puura, Acting Director of Administration, 506 9882, erik.puura@ut.ee