Sussex University has been ranked as Britain’s 8th best university by the Times Higher Education magazine.
The magazine’s World University Rankings – published today – rate Sussex as 16th in Europe and 79th in the world.
The university, which has its main campus at Falmer, ranks 4th in Britain for the impact of its research as measured by its research citation counts.
The vice-chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, said that the success of Sussex in recent years was down to major improvements in the student experience and a particularly strong research portfolio.
Professor Farthing said: “New student programmes, new facilities, new approaches to teaching and learning – all of these initiatives have augmented the university’s individual approach to research and teaching.
“But what is really making a difference is the impact of our research.
“Our citation score indicates that we are producing research of outstanding quality.
“I am confident that we will see further advances in the years to come and that Sussex will have real cause for celebration of its achievements when it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011-12.”
The university is the highest ranked among the research-intensive 1994 Group of universities.
The table, produced for the first time this year by Thomson Reuters, includes an invitation-only reputation survey of more than 13,000 verified academics conducted by Ipsos Mori.
A new methodology, focusing on teaching quality, research volume and income, research impact (measured by citations), industry income and international mix of staff and students, was used to produce the league table, which is intended to reflect objective evidence rather than historic reputation.
Ann Mroz, editor of the Times Higher Education magazine, congratulated Sussex, saying: “Being ranked 79 in the world top 200 is an impressive achievement.
“The top 200 universities in the world represent only a tiny fraction of world higher education and any institution that makes it into this table is truly world class.”
The latest ranking rounds off a clutch of impressive results for Sussex in 2010 which includes
- The Guardian University Guide – Sussex rose to 15th place in the UK
- The Times Good University Guide rated Sussex 21st best, up 14 places on 2009
- The Independent Complete University Guide put Sussex in the top 20, at 19
- The Sunday Times league table put Sussex 21st in the UK.
The league table rankings tally with student opinion, with Sussex ranked joint 7th nationally in this year’s National Student Survey.
To see a full round-up of rankings for Sussex University, click here.
