NZ universities all ranked in world’s top 100 by subject
22 March 2016 | media
New Zealand’s universities have again demonstrated they are world class, with all ranked in the top 100 universities in the world in one or more subjects.
Chris Whelan, Executive Director of Universities New Zealand, describes it as an outstanding result.
“The results show that our eight universities are among the best in the world, despite competition from larger and better funded institutions in the United States and Europe.
“Based on these results our universities are ranked among the top 50 universities in the world in 21 subjects, with 68 subjects ranked in the world’s top 100.
“This year, across the top 100 subjects, universities have slipped down the rankings in 13 subjects, improved in 13 subjects, and remained the same in 32 subjects. Ten are new subjects.”
A highlight this year is the ranking given by employers.
“Employers have demonstrated that they are very happy with the quality of graduates entering their profession or industry. They have given New Zealand’s universities an average score of 80% across the top 100 subjects.
But Chris Whelan warns that our hold on top rankings is not to be taken for granted.
“International competition for rankings is just getting more intense as every country and university wants to attract the best teachers, researchers and students. New Zealand universities receive about 70% of the funding per students as comparable universities in Australia and the United Kingdom.”
“If New Zealand wants to maintain the international quality of its university system for students and employers, it is going to need to take a hard look at the level of investment.”
The results include:
- New Zealand’s only Dentistry School at the University of Otago is ranked 12th best in the world.
- The university of Auckland is ranked in the top 50 across 15 different subjects.
- New Zealand’s only Veterinary Science programme at Massey University is ranked 25th in the world.
- Both Medical Schools at Auckland and Otago are highly ranked (ie at 51-100 and 101-150 respectively).
- The Civil and Structural Engineering programmes at Auckland and Canterbury are both ranked in the top 50.
- Lincoln University and Massey University both rank in the top 100 in Agriculture and Forestry (at 51-100 and 30 respectively).
- In the capital city, Victoria University of Wellington is ranked in the top 50 for Social Policy and Administration.
- The University of Waikato has retained its high ranking in Education, ranking in the top 51-100 bracket, along with Canterbury, Otago and Victoria.
- Auckland University of Technology’s Art & Design programmes are ranked in the top 51-100 places, along with the University of Auckland.
This year’s QS subject rankings are based on feedback from 44,426 employers, 76,798 experts, analysis of 28.5 million research papers and over 113 million citations.
Further information
- A table of the subject results for New Zealand is below.
- Universities New Zealand, also known as the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, is the peak body representing the shared interests of New Zealand’s eight universities nationally and internationally.
2016 QS Subject rankings for New Zealand