Research Impact & Support

Universities are ranked by several indicators of academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, papers published in Nature and Science, papers indexed in major citation indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution.

Uses the following performance checklist to evaluate the impact of a university:

1. Teaching and learning environment from the student and academic perspective

2. Research volume, income and reputation (from academic reputation survey)

3. Number of citations (as indexed in Web of Science)

4. Industry income

5. Ratio of international to domestic students and staff, and international collaboration

Compares the world’s highest-performing universities and explores the leading universities in different world regions and in specific subject areas. For information into the methodologies used, visit the QS Intelligence Unit website.