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On the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2017, the UPC is rated as the top European university and the 21st in the world for its scientific performance in mathematics and computer science in the period 2012–2015. This ranking, produced by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) of the University of Leiden (Netherlands), measures the scientific performance of more than 900 universities in 54 countries around the world based on bibliographic data from the Web of Science database.

In addition to the general ranking, results are analysed in five main fields of science: biomedical and health sciences, life and earth sciences, mathematics and computer science, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities. In physical sciences and engineering, the UPC is among the 200 highest-ranked institutions in the world (189th) and the top 50 in Europe. In life and earth sciences, it ranks 290th; in social sciences and humanities, 518th; and in biomedical and health sciences, 749th. In the overall ranking, the UPC places 317th.

The way subject categories fit into these main fields isn’t always obvious. The mathematics and computer science field, for example, includes analysis of data for mathematics and engineering categories related to ICT and automatic control, including mathematics and statistics, telecommunications, electrical and electronic engineering, and robotics. Apart from physics, the physical sciences and engineering field encompasses aerospace, civil, industrial, mining and marine engineering, as well as materials science.

The 2017 CYD Ranking, produced by the Knowledge and Development Foundation (CYD), aims to offer a multidimensional view of institutions based on a wide array of indicators, which are grouped into five broad dimensions for analysis of universities and by area of knowledge: teaching and learning, research, knowledge transfer, international orientation, and contribution to regional development. Universities are ranked based on their score on each of the indicators, which is expressed as a level of performance (high, medium or low) in relation to the institutions analysed.

The UPC as a whole received 14 performance scores of “high” on the 33 indicators considered. The dimension on which the University scores highest is international orientation, where it receives scores of “high” on five of the six performance indicators taken into account; namely, master’s courses taught in a foreign language, student mobility, foreign professors, international doctoral theses, and international publications. The UPC also does particularly well on the research dimension, with “high” scores on five of the 10 indicators, awarded for external research funds (settled and obtained), publications per professor, standardised impact of published articles, and highly-cited papers.

Three new fields – chemical engineering, civil engineering and industrial engineering – were analysed this year, and data was updated for mechanical engineering, telecommunications engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, and informatics engineering. In all these fields, the UPC’s earns more “highs” than any other score, and once again the dimension it does best on is international orientation.