Times Higher Education (THE) has placed Oxford University second after California In- stitute of Technology on their 2015-16 World University Rankings, deeming the University the best in Europe.
Oxford has risen three places, having been ranked in fifth place last year. It has over-taken both Cambridge and Harvard, who are ranked 4th and 6th respectively.
The THE rankings claim that they are “the only international university performance tables to judge world class universities across all of their core missions – teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.”
According to the table, the University has performed particularly impressively in its international outlook (94.4 per cent), research (98.9 per cent) and citations (98.8 per cent). It has performed less well on teaching (86.5 per cent) and industry income (73.1 per cent).
The rankings also include a breakdown of key statistics which shows that the student to staff ratio is 11.6:1 and the female to male ratio is 46:54.
Responding to the news, an Oxford Univer- sity spokesperson told Cherwell, “Students coming to Oxford benefit from having both the resources of world-renowned research centres across a wide range of disciplines and a highly personalized education where access to leading academics is a central part of both postgraduate and undergraduate teaching.’
“Very few other universities offer this combination, and students who come to Oxford experience an institution where ground- breaking research and excellent teaching are both highly valued.”
This table contrasts with the World Reputation Rankings which have placed Harvard first, with Cambridge coming second and Oxford third.
This separate ranking table is designed to “employ the world’s largest invitation- only academic opinion survey to provide the definitive list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands”.
Nick Cooper, OUSU Vice President for Graduates, told Cherwell, “We are pleased to see these results, which are a reflection of the generally excellent quality of teaching and research that students see here. The University scores highly on all measures, with some differences in methodology explaining the variation across rankings.”
“That said, it is important that the University does not become complacent. Issues remain across all levels of education, including in feedback to undergraduates and the qual- ity of provision for Masters students. We look forward to exploring these issues further in our submission to the University’s upcoming Higher Education Review.”
Caitlin Edwards, a second-year student at St Catherine’s, said, “I don’t think it will affect Oxford students any more than giving them an even bigger ego. All these league tables are so pointless; it just gives the University bragging rights and a reason to expect you to produce more work.”
