RANKING. During the summer, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) published its subject rankings, where it ranks universities around the world in 54 different subject lists, divided into five fields (Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences). ARWU is also known as the Shanghai Ranking. The University of Gothenburg had its best ranking in Dentistry & Oral Science at 18th in the world and in Human Biological Sciences at 25th.
In the rankings announced at the end of June, the University of Gothenburg is included in 31 of the 54 subject lists. The University has its highest ranking in Dentistry & Oral Science, where it is ranked 18th in the world.
“Our high ranking, seen from a local, national, and international perspective, is the result of the hard work by all staff from the departments. It’s fair to question the measurement methods and indicators used for the ranking. Even so, it is still considered a leading ranking,” says Peter Lingström, head of department.
Among Swedish universities, the University of Gothenburg ranks best in an additional five subject lists: Human Biological Sciences (25), Political Sciences (28), Public Administration (34), Communication (51–75), and Law (101–150). The University also shares first place among Swedish higher education institutions in Education (101–150).
In addition to these, the University is in the top 100 in the following subjects: Biological Sciences (31), Clinical Medicine (51–75), Nursing (51–75), Oceanography (51–75), Atmospheric Science (76–100), and Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (76–100).
Shortcomings with the methodology
As with all rankings, the method used to rank universities has shortcomings, according to the analysis by the Planning and Follow-up section. For this ranking, it is difficult to know which subjects the subject names actually refer to, the prize indicators sometimes have very surprising effects, and the rankings can also be misleading since large universities are highly favored.
Read the overview of ARWU by the Planning and Follow-up section: https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/organisation/utredningar/universitetsrankning/resultatanalyser/?selectedSegment=amnesrankningarna-2020-fran-academic-ranking-of-world-universities
TEXT: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
PHOTO: EMELIE ASPLUND
