54-563: The Excellence Initiative of the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Research Foundation (DFG) aims to promote cutting-edge research and to create outstanding conditions for young scholars at universities, to deepen cooperation between disciplines and institutions, to strengthen international cooperation of research, and to enhance the international appeal of excellent German universities. It
108-420: A citation database to calculate some of its indicators. The use of these citations databases have been criticised, since they do not include research output from the humanities and social sciences to the same degree as the natural sciences, engineering and medicine. It has also been pointed out that the indicator 'faculty/student ratio' does not measure commitment to teaching, but rather research intensity, since
162-553: A famously problematic factor to measure. University standing here is of special interest to potential students, and acknowledging this was the impetus behind the inaugural QS Graduate Employability Rankings, published in November 2015. However, these rankings were subsequently discontinued in 2021, with its data rolled into the QS World University Rankings methodology. The final 10% of a university's score
216-582: A feedback loop. Concerns also exist regarding the global consistency and integrity of the data used to generate the QS rankings. The development and production of the rankings is overseen by QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter, who in 2016 was ranked 40th in Wonkhe's Higher Education Power List, a list of what the organisation believed to be the 50 most influential figures in British higher education value. QS
270-464: A five-year period is divided by the number of academics in a university to yield the score for this measure, which accounts for 20% of a university's score in the rankings. QS has explained that it uses this approach, rather than the citations per paper preferred for in other rankings systems because it reduces the impact of biomedical science on the overall picture – biomedicine has a ferocious " publish or perish " culture. Instead, QS attempts to measure
324-585: A future concept does often, but not necessarily result in a superior overall budget compared to other German universities. For example, due to its small size, the University of Constance is, despite this additional funding, not included in the top 20 funded universities in Germany. According to the Third European Report on Science & Technology Indicators , an official document compiled by
378-702: A global presence with offices in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and provides products and services related to student recruitment, events, and consulting services. In 2022, the firm's founder, Nunzio Quacquarelli, was appointed as the company's president. Jessica Turner serves as the company's chief executive officer, responsible for the firm's operations and strategy. The QS World University Rankings are released annually, typically in June. The 2023 edition featured 1418 institutions across 100 locations. The rankings are based on
432-430: A methodology that considers a range of factors, including academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact, and internationalization. The methodology is reviewed annually to ensure that it remains relevant and up-to-date. The most recent methodology used by QS to calculate the rankings includes the following indicators: Accounting for 40% of the overall score, academic reputation relates to academic excellence and
486-674: A number of outlets, including The Guardian in the United Kingdom and Chosun Ilbo in South Korea . The first rankings produced by QS independently of THE , and using QS's methodology, were released in September 2010; the second rankings were released a year later, in September 2011. QS designed its rankings to assess performance according to what it believes to be key aspects of a university's mission: teaching, research, nurturing employability, and internationalisation. QS has
540-422: A position paper titled "Major Societal Challenges" internationally referred to as societal challenges or grand challenges, it called for the "integration and flexible recombination of knowledge on ecological, technological, social, cultural, and economic aspects of a transformation process." Presidents ( Vorsitzender ) of the organization: QS World University Rankings The QS World University Rankings
594-537: A second consecutive time: HU Berlin (as part of the Berlin University Alliance), TU Dresden , and the University of Tübingen . The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology returned to excellence status for a second time after having been funded in the first round (2006). The three first-time excellence universities are the University of Bonn , University of Hamburg , and TU Berlin (as part of
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#1732765524924648-657: A successful, international course." Source: Federal Ministry of Education and Research Whether the Excellence Initiative has had a positive effect is currently a matter of debate. A report by the WZB Berlin Social Science Centre indicates that the program failed to create more diverse education options and produced little in the way of lasting change. Additionally, the Goethe Institut claims that an additional criticism
702-440: Is a limited metric, particularly in the face of modern enhancements in online teaching methods and content distribution. Citations of published research are among the most widely used inputs to national and global university rankings. The QS World University Rankings used citation data from Thomson (now Thomson Reuters) from 2004 to 2007, and since then has used data from Scopus , part of Elsevier. The total number of citations for
756-417: Is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds , a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with Times Higher Education ( THE ) magazine as Times Higher Education –QS World University Rankings , inaugurated in 2004 to provide an independent source of comparative data about university performance. In 2009,
810-568: Is an advisory body to the German Federal Government and the federal state governments. It makes recommendations on the development of science, research, and the universities, as well as on the competitiveness of German science. These recommendations involve both quantitative and financial considerations, as well as their implementation. Funding is provided by the federal and state governments. The Science and Humanities Council's Scientific Commission has 32 members appointed by
864-563: Is based on six indicators: In addition, QS produces two other annual MBA comparisons, the Online MBA Rankings and the Executive MBA Rankings. In September 2015, The Guardian referred to the QS World University Rankings as "the most authoritative of their kind". In September 2012, The Independent described the QS World University Rankings as being "widely recognised throughout higher education as
918-544: Is derived from measures intended to capture their internationalization: half from their percentage of international students, and the other half from their percentage of international staff. This is of interest partly because it shows whether a university is putting effort into global collaboration and diversity, but also because it indicates global appeal for students and researchers around the world. QS recently began distinguishing between International Faculty Ratio and International Student Ratio', both of which account for 5% of
972-418: Is in their greatest interest to rank their own institution more highly than others. This means the results of the survey and any apparent change in ranking are highly questionable, and that a high ranking has no real intrinsic value in any case. We are vehemently opposed to the evaluation of the University according to the outcome of such PR competitions. Like many other international university rankings, QS uses
1026-443: Is obtained using another survey, like Academic Reputation, and accounts for 15% of an institution's overall score. The most recent edition surveyed some 99,000 employers at companies and organisations that hire graduates on a significant or global scale. This survey was introduced in 2005 in the belief that employers track graduate quality, making this a barometer of teaching quality and the level of work readiness acquired by students,
1080-461: Is that "competition up to now has focussed exclusively on the research rather than the teaching at universities", that prevailing qualitative imbalances in East and West German education systems may potentially be perpetuated via the program (by favoring more established Western universities over their younger Eastern counterparts), and, furthermore, that the funding may actually be insufficient to achieve
1134-575: Is the result of lengthy negotiations between the federal government and the German states. Since almost all German universities are public (most private universities do not have the official German "Universitätsstatus"), and therefore mainly paid by taxes and generally egalitarian, there is no German Ivy League of private higher education institutions. However, the Excellence Initiative aims to strengthen some selected public universities more than others in order to raise their international visibility. Thus,
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#17327655249241188-793: Is weighted to account for 20% of the final citations score. QS has conceded the presence of some data-collection errors regarding citations per faculty in previous years' rankings. One concern is the differences between the Scopus and Thomson Reuters databases. For major world universities, the two systems capture largely the same publications and citations. For less prominent institutions, Scopus has more non-English language and smaller-circulation journals in its database leading some critics to suggest that citation averages are skewed towards English-speaking universities. This area has been criticized for undermining universities that do not use English as their primary language. QS's Employer Reputation indicator
1242-773: The COVID-19 Crisis for the Further Development of the Science System in Germany," which described ten challenges for research to be crisis-proof. In 2019, it called for more funds for peace and conflict studies . In the same year (2019), it issued a statement on the further development of university medicine in North Rhine-Westphalia . In 2016, the Council produced a position paper on knowledge and technology transfer. In 2015, in
1296-608: The European Commission , four of the Universities of Excellence are among Europe's top 10 universities: Technical University of Munich (joint 3rd), Freiburg (joint 6th), Karlsruhe (joint 6th), and Heidelberg (joint 9th). In the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2012, Technical University of Munich (53), LMU Munich (60), Heidelberg (62), and Freiburg (99) are included in the global top 100, heading
1350-529: The Berlin University Alliance). Out of the 140 universities in Germany 11 universities were chosen, among them five new winners ( HU Berlin , University of Bremen , University of Cologne , TU Dresden , University of Tübingen ) and six title holders: RWTH Aachen , FU Berlin , Heidelberg University , University of Konstanz , LMU Munich , and Technical University of Munich . As in 2006 and 2007, also other universities were awarded for special clusters of excellence and renowned graduate schools. The funding for
1404-563: The Federal Government and the federal state governments. In the recent past, the German Council of Science and Humanities expressed its views in its statements, recommendations, and position papers on various topics, including university construction (2022), the transformation of scientific publishing to Open Access (2022), and science communication (2021). In 2020, it published the position paper "Impulses from
1458-995: The Federal President. Twenty-four scientists are jointly proposed by the German Research Foundation , the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science , the German Rectors' Conference , the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres , the Fraunhofer Society , and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community . Another eight persons of high public standing are jointly proposed by
1512-668: The German "Universities of Excellence" are sometimes considered the German Ivy League of public institutions, and these universities are commonly referred to by the media as "elite universities". The initiative is conducted by the DFG together with the German Science and Humanities Council (WR). More than 30 universities in total received funding. It includes three lines of funding: Altogether €2.7 billion (€1.9 billion for 2007–2012) of additional funds will be distributed over
1566-676: The QS Best Student Cities rankings. In 2022, QS launched the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, and in 2023, it launched the QS World University Rankings: Europe. The rankings are intended to reflect and articulate university performance for the next academic year. Therefore, they are usually named for the year following that in which they are produced. The rankings are regarded as one of
1620-728: The QS World University Rankings: Europe. The table showcased 688 institutions from 42 member countries of the Council of Europe. Typically, QS's first rankings release of the year is the QS World University Rankings by Subject which are usually published in March or April. The rankings provide a detailed evaluation of universities based on their performance in more than 50 specific academic disciplines (Business, Mathematics, Medicine, Law, among others), as well as their performance in five broad faculty areas (Arts & Humanities, Engineering & Technology, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences). The QS World University Rankings by Subject
1674-600: The United Nations' M49 Standard. First published in 2015, QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia Rankings included universities from mostly Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with Russia's Lomonosov Moscow State University in the top spot since its first publication. These rankings were discontinued in 2022. The QS World University Rankings: Latin America were launched in 2011. The 2024 edition expanded these rankings to include Caribbean universities. In 2023, QS launched
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1728-786: The best MBA programmes worldwide, based on factors such as reputation, employability, and course content. The QS Global MBA Rankings is now an annual publication released alongside its sister rankings, the QS Business Master's Rankings and until 2023 the QS MBA by Career Specialisation Rankings (discontinued) These lists the world's best master's programmes for business-related subjects and MBAs for specific career options including Finance, Business Management, Business Analytics, Marketing and Supply Chain Management. Currently, QS's methodology for ranking MBAs and business master's degrees
1782-639: The coming five years, most of this coming from the federal government. The WR is responsible for the third line of funding, and the DFG is responsible for the first and second lines of funding. 11 future concepts across 13 universities were selected for funding in 2019. Six universities retained their status for a third time: RWTH Aachen , FU Berlin (as part of the Berlin University Alliance ), Heidelberg University , University of Konstanz , LMU Munich , and Technical University of Munich . Three further universities retained their status for
1836-590: The density of research-active staff at each institution, but issues remain about the use of citations in ranking systems, especially the fact that the arts and humanities generate comparatively few citations. Since 2015, QS has made methodological enhancements designed to remove the advantage institutions specializing in the Natural Sciences or Medicine previously received. This enhancement is termed faculty area normalization and ensures that an institution's citations count in each of QS's five key Faculty Areas
1890-585: The field of German universities by those criteria. Eight of the eleven Universities of Excellence are included in the world's top 250 universities, according to the QS World University Ranking 2012: Technical University of Munich (53); Heidelberg (55); LMU Munich (60); Free University of Berlin (87); Humboldt University of Berlin (130); Tübingen (144); RWTH Aachen (150); Cologne (247). The Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2012 ranks 8 of these 11 Universities of Excellence among
1944-614: The finance ministry of the United Kingdom. Amongst its recommendations were world university rankings, which Lambert said would help the UK gauge the global standing of its universities. Between 2004 and 2009, QS produced the rankings in partnership with THE . In 2009, THE announced they would produce their own rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings , in partnership with Thomson Reuters . THE cited an asserted weakness in
1998-553: The goal of creating "globally competitive universities". However, an international commission led by physicist Dieter Imboden of the ETH Zurich in Switzerland praised the program, saying it had a "very positive" influence on higher education in Germany, and recommending it be extended and further developed. German Council of Science and Humanities The German Science and Humanities Council (Wissenschaftsrat, WR)
2052-473: The growing importance of sustainability in higher education and society at large. The rankings are compiled using data collected through surveys as well as external sources such as the World Bank and the United Nations to provide a resource for students, academics and policymakers to assess universities' sustainability performance and identify best practices for achieving sustainability goals. The rank of
2106-444: The methodology of the original rankings, as well as a perceived favoritism in the existing methodology for science over the humanities, as two of the key reasons for the decision to split with QS. THE created a new methodology with Thomson Reuters, and published the first Times Higher Education World University Rankings in September 2010. QS publishes the rankings results in the world's media and has entered into partnerships with
2160-666: The most trusted international tables". In September 2016, Angel Calderon, principal advisor for planning and research at RMIT University and a member of the QS Advisory Board, said, "QS Latin American University Rankings has [sic] become the annual international benchmark universities use to ascertain their relative standing in the region". He further stated that the 2016/17 edition of this ranking demonstrated improved stability. The reputation surveys have received severe criticism. QS do not reveal
2214-405: The most-widely read university rankings in the world, along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings . According to Alexa Internet , it is the most widely viewed university ranking worldwide. The ranking has been criticized for its overreliance on subjective indicators and reputation surveys, which tend to fluctuate over time and form
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2268-483: The overall score. Some people have expressed concern about the manner in which the academic reputation survey has been carried out. In a report, Peter Wills from the University of Auckland wrote of the THE -QS World University Rankings: But we note also that this survey establishes its rankings by appealing to university staff, even offering financial enticements to participate (see Appendix II). Staff are likely to feel it
2322-517: The response rates for the survey, but statements from QS indicate that they are very low (2–8 %), which would make the results highly unreliable. Other commentators have pointed at the low validity of the survey, since few people know much about the quality of teaching and research at other institutions but their own. However, the issues extend beyond survey methodology. The QS World University Rankings have been criticised by many for placing too much emphasis on reputation, which receives 50% of
2376-809: The same academic year. First published in 2014, the annual QS Arab Region University Rankings highlights leading universities in the Arab Region. The methodology for this ranking has been developed to reflect specific challenges and priorities for institutions in the region, drawing on 10 indicators. In 2009, QS launched the QS World University Rankings: Asia in partnership with The Chosun Ilbo newspaper in Korea to rank universities in Asia independently. The 15th edition, released in 2022, ranked 760 universities, with inclusion based on
2430-558: The same methodological indicators tend to be used for the regional rankings, the weightings are modified and additional lenses are included to account for the unique characteristics of each region. Additional metrics include incoming and outgoing exchange students, academic staff with a PhD, and web visibility. Accordingly, the performance of institutions within their respective regional rankings can differ significantly from the QS World University Rankings released in
2484-626: The scholarly esteem in which the world's universities are held. It collates more than 150,000 responses from academics in more than 140 countries and locations. QS has previously published the job titles and geographical distribution of the participants in this survey. This indicator accounts for 15% of a university's score in the rankings. It is a classic measure used in various ranking systems as an indication of staff resources afforded to students, including teaching capacity, class size, curriculum development, lab and seminar delivery, pastoral care, teaching capacity and class size. QS has admitted that it
2538-451: The total weightage. While the former evaluates the ratio of international faculty staff to overall staff, the latter assumes that Institutions that have a large number of international students should have better networking, cultural exchanges, a more diverse learning experience and alumni diversity. Beginning with its 2024 rankings, QS implemented three new indicators to reflect the shifts in higher education, each of which accounts for 5% of
2592-493: The total weightage: In addition to the World University Rankings, QS produces four regional rankings, including the Arab Region, Asia, Emerging Europe and Central Asia (discontinued), and Latin America. In 2023, QS launched the QS World University Rankings: Europe. These editions include an expanded roster of ranked universities for each region than those featured in the QS World University Rankings. While
2646-493: The two organizations parted ways to produce independent university rankings, the QS World University Rankings and THE World University Rankings. QS's rankings portfolio has since been expanded to consist of the QS World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings by Subject, four regional rankings tables (including Asia , Latin America , Europe , Central Asia , and the Arab Region ), several MBA rankings, and
2700-403: The universities featured is determined by the sum of their scores in two categories: Environmental Impact and Social Impact, which are subdivided into eight indicators. These include: Over the last three decades, QS has expanded its rankings portfolio to include business schools, MBAs and business master's degrees. It launched QS Global MBA Rankings to provide students with a comprehensive list of
2754-401: The world based on their appeal and benefits to students who study there. Launched in 2012, the rankings are based on a range of indicators that are designed to capture the experience of students living and studying in a particular city. The methodology for QS Best Student Cities is based on five indicators: In 2022, QS launched the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability in response to
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#17327655249242808-414: The world's 250 top universities: LMU Munich (45); Heidelberg (73); Technical University of Munich (88); Humboldt University of Berlin (109); Free University of Berlin (151); RWTH Aachen (168); Tübingen (187); Konstanz (194). Federal Education Minister Annette Schavan said following the awards ceremony, "The excellence initiative is writing scientific history. Research at German universities finds itself on
2862-601: Was first introduced in 2011 and initially covered only five subject areas. Since then, the number of subjects has increased more than tenfold and is now considered one of the most comprehensive subject-focused rankings. Way before 2024 updates of core indicators used in the World University Rankings, the QS World University Rankings by Subject was already using International Research Network. In addition, Rankings by Subject also use H-Index, which assesses research productivity and impact within specific fields. The QS Best Student Cities rankings are an annual comparison of cities around
2916-693: Was founded by Nunzio Quacquarelli in 1990 to provide information and advice to students looking to study abroad. Since then, the company expanded to include a wider range of higher education-focused products and services before partnering with THE in 2004 to create the THE –QS World University Rankings. A perceived need for an international ranking of universities was highlighted in December 2003 in Richard Lambert 's review of university-industry collaboration in Great Britain for HM Treasury ,
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