The University of Iceland is ranked 151-175 in a list of the world's best universities for life sciences and among the top 250 for physical sciences, according to the latest subject rankings from Times Higher Education. The University is also placed 250-300 for psychology and among the top 500 for clinical, pre-clinical and health. It is furthermore the only university in Iceland to be included in these subject rankings.
For many years, the Times Higher Education magazine has been publishing lists ranking the world's leading universities based on their overall performance, as well as subject specific rankings. The lists are based on an evaluation of 13 performance indicators, looking at things like research, international research influence, teaching reputation, the learning environment and international outlook. The subject rankings also consider research and publication conventions within the subject.
The University of Iceland has been included in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for a whole decade, but the Times Higher Education published today four subject-specific rankings. A total of over 1,500 universities from almost 100 countries were included on at least one of the lists, but it is a testament to the strength of the University of Iceland that it was included on all four, the only Icelandic university to achieve this.
What is more, the University has maintained its position in the rankings from last year, which is no mean feat in the fiercely competitive world of international academia.
The Times Higher Education evaluation of the world's leading universities for life sciences covers a diverse range of subjects, including biology, sport and health sciences, agricultural science and veterinary science. As mentioned above, the University is among the top 175 for this group of subjects, with a total of 972 universities included on the list.
Universities were ranked for physical sciences based on performance in mathematics, statistics, physics, astrophysics and chemistry, as well as earth sciences, environmental science and marine science. The University of Iceland is among the top 250 for these subjects, according to Times Higher Education, with a total of 1,227 universities ranked.
The Times Higher Education rankings of the best universities for psychology are based on performance in different areas of psychology, such as clinical, educational, sports, business and animal psychology. The University of Iceland was ranked 251-300, out of a total of 568 universities included.
The clinical, pre-clinical and health rankings include medicine, odontology and other health-related subjects and looked at 925 universities working in these fields. The University of Iceland is among the top 500.
These four rankings confirm the wide-ranging strengths of the University of Iceland, as did the Shanghai subject rankings published earlier this summer. The University of Iceland was included on 14 of the ShanghaiRanking Consultancy lists and was judged to be among the world's very best universities for remote sensing, in the top 45 for electrical and computer engineering and 51-75 for nursing. Times Higher Education and ShanghaiRanking Consultancy are generally considered to produce the most prestigious and influential rankings of this kind and the University of Iceland is the only Icelandic university to be included by both.
More subject-specific rankings from Times Higher Education are expected later this autumn. These will address engineering, computer science, social sciences, business and economics, education, and law.