University of Tartu ranks in the top 350 in World University Rankings compiled based on a new methodology

The British journal Times Higher Education (THE) has published its 20th edition of the World University Rankings. This year's table, compiled based on a new methodology, ranks the University of Tartu in the 301–350 bracket.

The University of Tartu’s total score, 51.1–53, is 1.3 percentage points lower than last year’s result (51.2–54.3). As THE has significantly updated the ranking methodology, comparing this year's results with earlier ones is difficult.

In the new edition, THE has used, instead of the former 13 performance indicators, 18 performance indicators, which are grouped into five large areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. Also the proportion of these areas in the total score has been changed.

The university’s strength is still research quality, in which we rank 182nd in the world among the 1,904 universities (score 86.5). Compared to last year, the university has dropped 67 places in this indicator (last year, the University of Tartu had a research quality score of 92.4 and ranked 115th among the world's universities). Since this indicator significantly affects the total score, it is also the main cause of the drop in the ranking. Read more about the new methodology.

A record number of universities and countries – 1,904 universities from 108 countries and regions – were represented in the newly published ranking. The University of Oxford tops the rankings for the eighth year in a row, followed by Stanford University in the second and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the third place. The highest-ranking among the University of Tartu’s partner universities are the University of Toronto (21st), the University of Groningen (79th) and the University of Göttingen (111th). In addition to the University of Tartu, the ranking table included two more Estonian universities: Tallinn University of Technology, ranked in the 601–800, and Tallinn University in the 1,001–1,200 bracket.