The Times Higher Education has released the results of 2016-17’s World University Rankings by subject, with the University of Edinburgh ranking in the top 25 in four out of eight subject areas.
In the study, universities are assessed in eight key subjects: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Clinical and Pre-clinical Health, Computer Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.
After recently being ranked as 19th overall in the QS World University rankings, these results shed new light on how each specific area of study in the University of Edinburgh is performing.
According to the Times Higher Education rankings, the University is excelling in Arts and Humanities, placing 14th on the table for this subject.
The University was also highly ranked in the subjects of Clinical and Pre-clinical Health, Computer Sciences, and Life Sciences, placing 20th, 16th and 21st respectively.
However in the subjects of Business and Economics, Engineering and Technology, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences, the University was ranked significantly lower, placing 61st, 59th, 33rd, and 43rd respectively,.
Despite this disparity between subject areas, the University of Edinburgh has been deemed as the best university in Scotland in all eight categories, above the University of Glasgow, the University of Dundee, the University of Aberdeen and the University of St Andrews.
In the published Rankings, The Times Higher Education board said that the results are based on “expertise across a broad range of disciplines, rather than exceptional performance in just a few”.
They look specifically at the five performance indicators of teaching quality, the institution’s international outlook, research standards, the reach of research influence, and industry outcome.
In the performance breakdown, the University of Edinburgh was consistent in industry income and citations, yet research and teachings standards varied significantly between subjects, providing rationale for the differing levels of performance.
Overall, British and American universities dominated the highest places in the rankings with the University of Oxford reaching the top of the table in five subjects, the first UK university to ever achieve this level of success.
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