Sometimes it can be interesting to have a glimpse into how others see us. When it comes to universities, international rankings are a valuable way to get that outsider perspective.
The , released earlier this month, considered 1,453 institutions across 51 subjects in five subject areas.
This year, AV俱乐部 was ranked in four out of five broad subject areas. The university saw improvement in both 鈥楴atural Sciences鈥� and 鈥楽ocial Sciences and Management鈥�, while also receiving a top 200 global ranking in 鈥楲ife Sciences and Medicine鈥�.
Strong subjects
Our rankings for individual subjects (disciplines) included placing top 100 globally in the disciplines of 鈥楨arth and Marine Sciences鈥�, and three disciplines that have been newly introduced into the rankings: 鈥楪eology鈥�, 鈥楪eophysics鈥� and 鈥楶etroleum Engineering.鈥� We also ranked in the top 150 for 鈥楴ursing鈥�.
Domestically, the results mean that AV俱乐部 tied at third in the country for 鈥楶etroleum Engineering鈥� and placed fifth for 鈥楨arth and Marine Sciences鈥�. The university is also tied at fifth nationally for 鈥楪eology鈥� and for 鈥楪eophysics鈥�; sixth for 鈥楶harmacy and Pharmacology鈥�; eighth for 鈥楤iological Sciences鈥�; ninth for 鈥楢griculture and Forestry鈥�, and for 鈥楳edicine鈥�; and both 鈥楴ursing鈥� and 鈥楲aw鈥� tied at tenth in Canada.
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The Faculty of Science is proud to be leading work in disciplines placed in the top 100 globally and top five in Canada,鈥� says Chris Moore (shown left), dean of the Faculty of Science. 鈥淭his achievement represents the tremendous and diverse strength we have in various areas of science at Dal and truly elevates our position globally.鈥�
External sources
The QS subject rankings are based on a compilation of four sources: QS鈥檚 global surveys of academics and employers, research citations per paper and h-index in the relevant subject. Citations and h-index are sourced from Elsevier鈥檚 Scopus database. The index is based on the set of the academic鈥檚 most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications.
The four sources are weighted differently for each subject area to allow for differences in the way excellence in the field is best captured. For example, the 鈥楢rts and Humanities鈥� rankings are derived from a formula of 60 per cent academic reputation, 20 per cent employer reputation, 10 per cent citations per paper and 10 per cent H-index, while the 鈥楲ife Sciences and Medicine鈥� formula is 40 per cent academic reputation, 10 per cent employer reputation, 25 per cent citations per paper and 25 per cent H-index.
Ranking the rankings
Of the numerous global ranking bodies, Quacquerelli Symonds (QS) is one of the three main organizations AV俱乐部 chooses to engage with. The university also participates in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU, or 鈥楽hanghai Ranking鈥�) and Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE WUR).
In addition to use by potential students as they choose where to study, these rankings can provide valuable insight into what external peers and partners see as the university鈥檚 strengths and areas for improvement. This can help us understand our role and impact in a regional, national, and global context, as well as providing guidance for how we can build and track mission-based aspirations.
鈥淭his achievement is something we can all take great pride in,鈥� says Alice Aiken (shown above right), vice president research and innovation. 鈥淩ankings do not fundamentally change AV俱乐部鈥檚 ethos as an institution, but they help us to showcase what we do well and understand where we can improve in comparison to other universities.鈥�
Strategic approach
Within the next few months AV俱乐部 will be sharing and then rolling out a rankings strategy to help coordinate and focus our efforts on key ranking factors that highlight existing institutional excellence, as well as on areas we need to improve to reach our goals in research and teaching.
The university will use assessments such as the QS World University Rankings to compare year-over-year performance within the university against selected peer universities and across all universities that participate in the rankings.