Ranking organisations

The five most recognised international university rankings demonstrate the growing strength of The University of Western Australia's research performance.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
ARWU 179 115 120 127 113 112 110 96 91 88 87 96 91 93 99 85 96 99 101 -
QS 80 111 64 83 84 89 73 79 84 89 98 102 93 91 86 92 93 90 72 -
THE - - - - - - 189 190 168 157 109 125 111 134 131 139 132 132 131 143
USN&W - - - - - - - - - 113 128 95 88 81 86 79 78 83 - -
NTU - - 213
238
212
199
190 179 166 148 137 134 129 123 116 124 125 111 138 -

UWA's Position in Rankings of Universities 2005-24

About the National Taiwan University Ranking (NTU)

The National Taiwan University Ranking (NTU) rankings first appeared in 2007. The ranking methodology has been relatively consistent since 2008 and is heavily reliant upon research output (Web of Science indexed articles).

Full NTU rankings
Key 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
NTU 213 238 212 199 190 179 166 148 137 134 129 123 116 124 125 111 138

NTU Ranking for UWA.

Performance Indicators

Within the NTU ranking there is no normalisation of citation data, which boosts the results of universities focused on medical and physical sciences, due to publication practices in those fields.

Staff size is not taken into account in the ranking (although the NTU team does provide a separate score for each university which has been adjusted for size).

Indicator 2023 Overall Performance Indicators Weighting (%)
Research Productivity Number of articles in the last 11 yearsa,b (2012-2022) 10 25
Number of articles in the current yearb (2022) 15
Research Impact Number of citations in the last 11 yearsa,b (2012-2022) 15 35
Number of citations in the last 2 yearsb (2021-2022) 10
Average number of citations in the last 11 yearsa (2012-2022) 10
Research Excellence h-index of the last 2 years (2021-2022) 10 40
Number of Highly Cited Papersa (2012-2022) 15
Number of articles in the current year in high-impact journals (2021-2022) 15

Note:
(a)The time frame of the three long-term indicators is consistent with that in ESI, providing cumulative data for the last 11 years.
(b)The indexes used in the calculation of Ref. Ranking

Subject Rankings

The NTU Rankings have also expanded to include rankings by broad fields and specific subject areas for the top 300 universities in the world.

NTU Broad Field UWA 2023 Rank
Agriculture 23
Engineering 351-400
Life Sciences 166
Medicine 153
Natural Sciences 193
Social Sciences 139

NTU broad field ranking for UWA.

NTU Subject Area UWA 2023 Rank
Agricultural Sciences 35
Biology & Biochemistry 130
Chemical Engineering 252
Civil Engineering 93
Clinical Medicine 155
Computer Science 351-400
Economics & Business 179
Electrical Engineering 301-350
Environment / Ecology 54
Geosciences 56
Immunology 178
Materials Science 351-400
Mathematics 451-500
Mechanical Engineering 227
Microbiology 189
Molecular Biology & Genetics 161
Neuroscience & Behavior 192
Pharmacology & Toxicology 237
Physics 301-350
Plant & Animal Science 14
Psychiatry / Psychology 93
Social Sciences, General 127
Space Science 109
Environmental Science & Engineering 136

NTU subject area for UWA.

About the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)

The ARWU first appeared in 2003. Although there have been some changes in the criteria used to rank universities, the ranking methodology has been fairly consistent since 2005.

Full ARWU rankings
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ARWU 179 115 120 127 113 112 110 96 91 88 87 96 91 93 99 85 96 99 101

ARWU World Ranking for UWA.

Performance Indicators

While the ARWU provides a list of the top 500 universities world wide, only the top 100 are provided with a ranked position. The remaining institutions are ranked in bands of either 50 or 100.

However, as the ARWU provides a score for each indicator for all 500 universities, we are able to determine the ranked position of all institutions to a high degree of accuracy.

Please refer to the ARWU website for information on the methodology.

ValueIndicator
Alumni winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, with the value declining over time since the winner's graduation (100 year time limit)10%
Staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals with the value declining over time since the award was granted (100 year time limit)20%
Highly-cited researchers affiliated to the institution on the Thomson Reuter's Highly Cited website in 21 broad subject categories20%
Articles published in Nature and Science over a five year window, weighted for the position of the institution in list of affiliations20%
The number of articles and published proceedings papers listed in the Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index for the previous calendar year20%
The per capita academic performance (on the indicators above) of an institution
10%

Weighting of performance indicators.

Subject Rankings

Field Subject Rank
Engineering Civil Engineering 76-100
Environmental Science & Engineering 38
Marine/Ocean Engineering 17
Mining & Mineral Engineering 13
Water Resources 48
Life Sciences Agricultural Sciences 22
Biological Sciences 32
Human Biological Sciences 45
Medical Sciences Clinical Medicine 35
Public Health 76-100
Natural Sciences Earth Sciences 76-100
Ecology 51-75
Geography 76-100
Oceanography 26
Social Sciences Psychology 51-75

Subjects UWA ranked in the top 100.

About QS Ranking

The QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) Ranking was introduced in 2005 and was conducted in conjunction with the Times Higher Education magazine until 2009.

Full QS rankings
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
QS 80 111 64 83 84 89 73 79 84 89 98 102 93 91 86 92 93 90 72

QS World Ranking for UWA.

Performance Indicators

For this 20th edition, as planned, we have significantly evolved our methodology. These changes reflect the shifts in higher education that have occurred over the past two decades, such as the growing importance of sustainability, employability, and research collaborations. We have introduced three new indicators (see Table) and rebalanced the weights for other indicators.

Sustainability, employability, and international research collaboration are the dimensions that are either reinforced or introduced for the first time. We did not make these changes lightly and believe that they reflect the collective intelligence of the sector, and the changing priorities of students. This evolution of our rankings helps students identify institutions that excel in the areas that matter to them.

IndicatorPercentage
Academic Reputation30%
Employer Reputation15%
Faculty Student Ratio10%
Citations per Faculty20%
International Faculty Ratio5%
International Student Ratio5%
International Research Network5%
Employment Outcomes5%
Sustainability5%

Weighting of performance indicators.

Subject Rankings

QS employ an different set of measures for their subject rankings, which list the top 200 universities in a given field. Each of the 54 subjects (across five broad areas) has different weightings applied to four factors:

Academic reputation:
Data are pulled on a per-subject basis from the survey employed in the main ranking.
Employer reputation:
Data are pulled on a per-subject basis from the survey employed in the main ranking.
Citations per paper:
Data are extracted from Scopus, and are calculated across a five year window (2010 to 2014 for the 2016 ranking)
H-Index:
Two h-indices are calculated; one for all the papers that are attributable to the given subject (h1), and one to the papers that are only attributable to that subject (h2). These are aggregated with double weight given to h2.
Subject Weight (%) 2023 Rank
Academic
Employer
Citations
H-Index
Arts & Humanities
60 20 10 10
160
Archaeology
70 10 10 10
51-100
Architecture
70 10 10 10
151-200
English Language & Literature
80 10 10
101-150
History
60 10 15 15
101-150
Modern Languages
70 30
201-250
Linguistics
80 10 5 5
201-250
Philosophy
75 5 10 10
101-150
Engineering & Technology
40 30 15 15
173=
Chemical Engineering
40 30 15 15
151-200
Civil & Structural Engineering
40 30 15 15
51-100
Computer Science and Information Systems
40 30 15 15
251-300
Electrical & Electronic Engineering
40 30 15 15
201-250
Petroleum Engineering
40 30 15 15
43=
MechanicalCOMMA Aeronautical & Manufacturing
40 30 15 15
201-250
Mining & Mineral
40 30 15 15
7
Life Sciences & Medicine
40 10 25 25
85=
Agriculture & Forestry
50 10 20 20
42=
Anatomy & Physiology
40 10 25 25
23
Biological Sciences
40 10 25 25
133=
Dentistry
30 10 30 30
51-80
Medicine
40 10 25 25
151-200
Pharmacy & Pharmacology
40 10 25 25
101-150
Psychology
40 20 20 20
50=
Natural Sciences
40 20 20 20
125=
Chemistry
40 20 20 20
201-250
Earth & Marine Sciences
40 10 25 25
29=
Environmental Studies
40 10 25 25
83=
Geography
60 10 15 15
101-150
Geology
60 10 15 15
23
Geophysics
60 10 15 15
30
Mathematics
40 20 20 20
151-200
Physics & Astronomy
40 20 20 20
151-200
Social Sciences & Management
50 30 10 10
152=
Accounting & Finance
50 30 10 10
101-150
Anthropology
70 10 5 15
101-150
Business & Management Studies
50 30 10 10
151-200
Communication & Media Studies
50 10 20 20
151-200
Economics & Ecomometrics
40 20 20 20
151-200
Education and Training
50 10 20 20
101-150
Law & Legal Studies
50 30 5 15
101-150
Sociology
70 10 5 15
151-200
Sports-Related Subjects
60 10 15 15
22=

Subject ranking and their weight by subject

About the Times Higher Education Ranking (THE)

The THE Ranking was introduced in 2005. Until 2009, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ran the rankings for the THE. The 2010 THE ranking had a new set of criteria and relied on information gathered from Thomson Reuters, as well as survey data and institutional statistics. The 2015 THE ranking moved from using Thomson Reuters to Scopus for the provision of data.

Full THE rankings
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
THE 189 190 168 157 109 125 111 134 131 139 132 132 131 143

Time Higher Education World Ranking for UWA.

Performance Indicators

There has been some tweaking of the indictors since the introduction of the ranking in 2010 including an indictor for the level of international collaboration (judged using publication data in the WOS).

The THE ranking utilises Z scores for all data sets except for the results of the academic reputation survey.

Each data point is given a score based on its distance from the mean average of the entire data set, where the scale is the standard deviation of the data set.

IndicatorPercentage
Teaching - the learning environment 30%
Citations - research influence 30%
Research - volume, income and reputation 30%
International Outlook - staff, students and research 7.5%
Industry income - innovation 2.5%

Weighting of Performance Indicators

There has been some tweaking of the indictors since the introduction of the ranking in 2010 including an indictor for the level of international collaboration (judged using publication data in the WOS).

The THE ranking utilises Z scores for all data sets except for the results of the academic reputation survey.

Each data point is given a score based on its distance from the mean average of the entire data set, where the scale is the standard deviation of the data set.

The Z-score is then turned into a "cumulative probability score" to arrive at the final totals.

For the results of the reputation survey, the data are highly skewed in favour of a small number of institutions at the top of the rankings. In the 2012-13 ranking, THE introduced an exponential component to increase differentiation between institutions lower down the scale.

In 2015, THE removed 649 papers with more than 1,000 authors from the citations indicator, which prevents individual very highly cited papers from skewing the citation score criteria of small institutions.

Also in 2015, THE blended equal measures of a country-adjusted and non-country-adjusted raw measure of citations scores. THE argue that this presents a 'more rigorous approach to international comparison of research publications'.

The move from Thomson Reuters to Scopus bibliometric assisted in UWA's significant rise in the 2015 ranking. At the time of the ranking Scopus covered significantly more Australian journals than Thomson Reuters, thereby increasing UWA?s score for papers per faculty member and citation scores.

the world university rankings 2016-2017 methodology

The world university rankings 2016-2017 methodology.

Subject Rankings

THE also conducts rankings by subject areas, with UWA ranked in the top 100 in two key fields.

Subject UWA 2023 Rank
Arts & humanities 151-175
Business & economics 101-125
Clinical, pre-clinical & health 101-125
Computer science 301-400
Education 101-125
Engineering & technology 126-150
Law 176-200
Life sciences 81
Physical sciences 151-175
Psychology 84
Social sciences 151-175

UWA's subjects rankings.

About the US News & World Ranking

US News & World – the US newspaper famous for its annual ranking of American universities – launched a global ranking system in 2014. In 2018, the ranking has refined its methodology each year since its inception; therefore, this year's results are not directly comparable to previous years'. Compared to the QS and THE rankings, the US News and World methodology has a greater focus on research, but still includes a reputational survey component.

Full USN&W rankings
Key 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
US N&W1131289588818679

US News & World Ranking for UWA.

Performance Indicators

Broad Indicator Indicator Weighting (%)
ReputationGlobal research reputation12.525
Regional research reputation12.5
Research ProductivityPublications1015
Books2.5
Conferences2.5
Citation MetricsNormalized citation impact1050
Normalized citation impact7.5
# publications in top 10% highly cited papers12.5
% publications in top 10% highly cited papers10
# publications in top 1% highly cited papers5
% publications in top 1% highly cited papers5
International CollaborationInternational collaboration 5
% publications with international collaboration5

Weighting of Performance Indicators.

Subject Rankings

US N&W also conducts rankings by subject areas, with UWA ranked in the top 200 in sixteen key fields:

Subject UWA 2021 Rank
Agricultural Science29
Arts and Humanities148
Biology and Biochemistry118
Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology93
Cardiac and Cardiovascular System103
Cell Biology191
Civil Engineering72
Clinical Medicine108
Economics and Business119
Endocrinology and Metabolism121
Engineering177
Environment/Ecology53
Geoscience 44
Immunology 152
Microbiology 167
Molecular Biology and Genetics 103
Neuroscience and Behavior 127
Oncology 184
Pharmacology and Toxicology 149
Plant and Animal Science6
Psychiatry/Psychology 71
Public, Environmental and Occupational Health 53
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging 196
Social Sciences and Public Health 151
Space Science 106
Surgery 195

Subject areas ranked in the top 200.