The University of Iceland has been named one of the world's top 250 universities in the arts and humanities on the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The new list was published 13 September 2017 and focusses particularly on evaluating universities by subject. The excellent ranking highlights both the University of Iceland Humanities' competitiveness on an international level and the University's overall strength in major fields of study.
Times Higher Education published its annual list over the world's best universities last week. It is one of only two highly prestigious and influential rankings of this kind worldwide. The University of Iceland was ranked in 241st place worldwide and in 16th place amongst the Scandinavian countries.
Times Higher Education also released its annual World University Rankings by subject. Eight fields of studies are taken into consideration: arts and humanities, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and technology, computer science, social sciences, business and economics as well as clinical, pre-clinical and health. The assessment of universities by subject is based on the same criteria as the assessment of universities overall, i.e. research work, the international impact of research conducted at the institution in question, the quality of teaching, the learning environment as well as international connections. The research and publication conventions of each subject area are taken into consideration as well.
This is the first time that Times Higher Education has published a list over the world's top 400 universities in the arts and humanities. Previously, only the top 100 were released. The assessment takes all major research areas in the humanities into consideration, such as language studies, literature, linguistics, history, archaeology, philosophy, theology, architecture, and various art forms. The University of Iceland is ranked 201-250 in these research areas by Times Higher Education.
"This result is a great motivation for us at the School of Humanities. The University of Iceland has a key role to play when it comes to researching and teaching the various aspects of Icelandic culture and its connections to other parts of the world. We have known of the significance of the University here in Iceland for a long time, but Times Higher Education's ranking confirms its strong standing on an international level. This achievement will certainly help us to further develop study programmes and research in the School of Humanities in the future", says Guðmundur Hálfdánarson, Dean of the University of Iceland School of Humanities.
The University of Iceland's standings on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the arts and humanities as well as on the newly published Shanghai Global Rankings of Academic Subjects confirm yet again that the University's strength on an international level is not based on one specific field of study, but rather tied to its dynamic research and scientific work within highly diverse fields. This strength creates a competitive advantage for Icelandic society and industry in a highly competitive world. It is also the basis for preserving Iceland's diverse culture and economy as well as its high standard of living for the future.
"The humanities have — from the beginning — played an extremely important role in the work of the University of Iceland. Human resources at the University of Iceland are significant and the University has set a strategy to achieve the status of a leading university. It is therefore extremely satisfying to see this wonderful achievement of academics from the University of Iceland School of Humanities recognised on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. I would like to congratulate staff and students at the University of Iceland for this remarkable success", says Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland.
Further information on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by subject for the arts and humanities can be found on THE's website.