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UCL Engineering and Technology has been ranked fourth in the UK and among the top 40 in the world in the latest world league tables by the Times Higher Education (THE).
Computer Science at UCL was ranked among the top 20 in the world and fifth in the UK, confirming the Faculty of Engineering Sciences position as world leading.
Engineering and Technology at UCL was ranked 36th in the world, up from 38th equal, behind Oxford (3rd), Cambridge (5th) and Imperial College (10th). Stanford was top followed in second by California Institute of Technology.
In Computer Science, UCL was 18th in the world, behind Oxford (3rd), Cambridge (5th), Imperial (9th) and Edinburgh (14th). Stanford was first followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in second.
Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, said the findings were difficult to interpret but added: “I think the strong UCL performance shows us firmly moving up on international ranks and underscores the importance of research wins where we are leading globally.
“Such rankings are slow to respond to changes in performance so this requires a long-term strategy. Investments like UCL East are key to our future as are investments across faculties especially in healthcare where our links to medicine will make us truly unique. These are great results for a faculty gaining real momentum.”
In the absolutely rigorous, peer reviewed 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) evaluation UCL was ranked in first place for Computer Science, out of 89 Universities assessed, and considerably ahead of other Institutions.
Some 61% of its research submission was rated as world-leading (the highest possible category) and 96% of its research submission was rated as internationally excellent. REF is a reflection of how the department is performing now, while the THE with its “reputational” dimension reflects older memories.
The THE subject tables employ 13 performance indicators with weightings based on teaching (30%), research volume, income and reputation (30%), citations/research influence (27.5%), international outlook based on staff, students and research (7.5%), and industry income or innovation (5%).
In the overall THE tables, UCL is ranked 16th in the world and fourth in the UK behind Oxford, which came first, Cambridge, which jumped two places to second, and Imperial College, London, which was eighth. LSE was 25th and King’s College, London, 36th.
The results re-affirm UCL’s status as a world-leading university following its seventh place in the QS world rankings (third in the UK) and its 16th placing in the ShanghaiRanking world tables (also third in the UK).
The latest tables for Engineering and Technology show Asia is home to more world-class universities than North America.
Of the 500 universities included in THE’s 2018 engineering and technology subject table, 132 are in Asia while 127 are in the US and Canada.
China’s Peking University, which is a partner institution with UCL, is the continent’s top institution; it joins the top 10 of the ranking, after climbing five places to seventh.
China has made huge investments in science and technology in recent years. But the extent of China’s – and Asia’s – higher education strength in this area is more visible this year thanks to the expansion of the table to include 500 institutions, up from 100 last year.
China has 35 institutions in the ranking – more than any other nation in Asia – up from seven last year. Six of those universities that were also in last year’s table have improved.
South Korea is another strong performer in the continent, with 22 representatives, led by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) at 27th (up from 30th).
Meanwhile, Singapore’s two leading universities feature high up on the table; the National University of Singapore is at 8th, while Nanyang Technological University is at 16th.
