•Notícia

The QS World University Rankings (QSWUR) assess universities around the world based on a series of indicators related to reputation, research, teaching and institutional internationalisation. This year’s edition, QSWUR 2018, ranks the top 980 universities from among over 4000 analysed. The first three positions are held by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University and Harvard University.

Among European institutions, the UPC has risen 22 positions, from 142nd to 120th; within Spain, it has moved up two places to sixth; and among Catalan universities, it has advanced from fourth to third. The UPC has been progressively moving up the rankings since 2012 (apart from a drop last year).

From the 2012 edition to the one just published, it has advanced 98 positions. Its biggest year-to-year improvement – a rise of 46 places in the worldwide ranking – is in the current edition.

In terms of specific indicators, the UPC ranks highest on academic reputation (239th). This is also the area where it has advanced most compared to the previous edition (by 51 places). The University’s second-highest ranking is for employer reputation (243rd), where it has moved up 49 places. The UPC has also improved its faculty/student ratio, though to a lesser degree than in the case of the two reputation-related indicators.

The University’s strong improvement on academic and employer reputation and more moderate advance on faculty/staff ratio explain its rise in the overall ranking: together these indicators constitute 70% of an institution’s final score (40%, 10% and 20%, respectively).

Compared to the average scores for Spanish universities, the UPC stands out most for its faculty/student ratio, employer reputation, academic reputation, and international student ratio (in that order).

With the ranking obtained this year, the UPC is positioned among the top 28% of institutions assessed by the QS World University Rankings, and in the top 1% of nearly 26,000 universities worldwide. The University’s overall score is 20.1% above the global average and 41.2% higher than the average for Spanish institutions.