Research Rankings       Finding the ideal university for your PhD study can be a complex endeavour, particularly if your study location is primarily dictated by the quality of the programme in your particular field of interest. While direct recommendations from alumni, friends and colleagues are often the most dependable and valuable source of information, they are not always easy to come by and tend to have a very subjective element. For a broader overview of the quality and the research performance of any university, it can be helpful to look towards the various rankings for initial guidance on where to study.

There are currently only two rankings available that rank universities worldwide. However, many countries have a national assessment mechanism for their universities in the form of research evaluations. It is the nature of rankings to evaluate a limited set of characteristics and every ranking should therefore serve as a basic guide only. To draw a more informed selection of potential universities for your PhD study, they may nonetheless present a great starting point. We have gathered some of the more significant research and other university rankings for the UK, US and Germany below:

INTERNATIONAL

The Academic Ranking for World Universities

The Academic Ranking for World Universities is a ranking produced by the Center for World Class Universities at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education. The rankings are conducted annually and are based on a range of indicators that include the number of staff winning Nobel Prizes and Field Medals, highly cited researchers, published articles in Nature and Science, articles indexed in major citation indices and per capita academic performance. The rankings were initially conceived to assess the academic and research performance of Chinese universities in comparison to international world-class universities. The first rankings were produced in 2003 and have been published annually ever since. As the indicators distinctly relate to academic and research performance, they are probably better suited for a prospective PhD candidate to evaluate the research performance of a university. However, as with every ranking, additional sources should be consulted before making a decision.

The Times Higher – QS World University Ranking

These annual rankings have been conceived jointly by the Times Higher Education publication and QS to rank universities worldwide based on their relative strength in comparison with one another. It is not a research ranking as such, but rather gives a broad overview of how universities are performing based on six defined indicators. These indicators are an academic peer review, a review by employers, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty and proportion of international students. The only indicator that relates to a university’s research performance is the citation per faculty indicator, which is based on the citation output performance evaluated against the size of the research body. There are some broad subject area evaluations available on the rankings homepage. The rankings can assist in providing a very general overview of how universities perform in relation to one another but for a more detailed evaluation of a university’s research performance additional sources of information should be consulted.

UNITED KINGDOM

Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)

The United Kingdom produces a research assessment ranking for its universities every four years. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is conducted by the main funding bodies for England, Scotland and Wales (HEFCE, SFC and HEFCW resoectively) and the Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland (DEL). The most recent RAE was conducted in 2008 with the purpose to produce quality profiles for the research activities undertaken by institutions in the UK. These quality profiles then determine the grant for research to the university as awarded by the four funding bodies. PhD students worldwide use the RAE as a reliable indicator for the quality of research in a particular field at UK universities.

GERMANY

With the establishment of a European Research Area, the need for quality assessment for the regions research increases accordingly. There are a number of rankings available for the German region, each seeking to establish university quality indicators according to different parameters.

Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) Funding Rankings

The DFG awards its funding to universities and research institutions by research area and serves thus as a solid indicator as to the research quality and activity of German institutions in any particular field. Funding is given to those research activities and projects that demonstrate innovative, pioneering and internationally competitive attributes. The DFG research assessment also takes into consideration new and innovative approaches to researcher and scientist training. Presented in a report ever three years since 1997, the DFG research rankings provide a reliable basis for any potential PhD student to find his or her ideal institution I Germany.

Centre for Higher Education (CHE) Research Rankings

CHE is well known for its university rankings for the German speaking region and provides a good research indicator for prospective PhD students wishing to study in Germany. The CHE research ranking aims to identify and assess research active universities in Germany. A feature of the CHE rankings is that it focuses its assessment on subject areas, allowing any potential student to find the institution that possesses particular strengths in a specific subject area. The CHE Research Rankings are based on publication output, funding, the number of doctorates enrolled and the number of applications for patents. As such, these rankings make for a good basis for any prospective PhD student’s programme search.

UNITED STATES

The US has long been prolific in producing university and higher education rankings, compiled often by private sector publications such as US News, Business Week and others. There are also an increasing number of university-led ranking initiatives and assessments led by specific institutions.

The Center for University Performance at Arizona State University – Top American Research Universities

The Center has issued its 2008 Top American Research Universities report in its eighth edition. Aware of the many pitfalls rankings may hold, the Center bases its assessment of US universities on a number of factors, such as total research expenditures, endowment assets, National Academy members, faculty awards, postdoctoral appointees, doctorates awarded, SAT scores, National Merit and Achievement Scholars and research focus, among others. The report does not make subject specific distinctions but gives a good indication which US universities, private or public, have a strong research basis.

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