The 2024 edition of the QS World University Rankings, released today by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, see Bangor University reach the top 500 (#481) out of 1499 in the world and 48th in the United Kingdom.
Bangor’s improved ranking reflects our commitment to sustainability and in particular, research, as illustrated in the citations per faculty indicator.
The University welcomes the inclusion of sustainability in the QS ranking, which aligns with the main theme of the University’s strategic plan - Strategy 2030: a sustainable world for future generations – and reflects the changing priorities of students and society at large over recent years. In particular, this reflects our clear commitment to sustainability with Bangor University being placed 20th in the UK and 108th in the world for the sustainability metric.
Professor Paul van Gardingen FRSA, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global Engagement): welcomed the results saying,
“As a university, we have chosen to priorities the sustainability of our activities in all our policies and it’s heartening to see this table including sustainability as an important element of concern for today’s student applicants, both in the UK and globally. League tables are a useful source of information for prospective students, and it’s good that this 20-year-old league table is changing to reflect the concerns of the current generation. With this result, we are now a double top-500 institution, also being ranked as a member of the 401-500 group in the Times Higher Education global rankings. This highlights that Bangor if truly a world-leading institution for education, research and social impact.”
The table’s citations metric, which assesses how often the university’s science research papers are quoted as a source in other research papers, serves as a mark of the quality of university research. This measure places the university 35th in the UK and 346th in the world.
Professor Paul Spencer Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research): commented:
“Our improved performance in the citations metric, which sees us rise by 89 places, is further testament to the reach and impact of Bangor’s world-leading research. It also reflects the outcome of recent UK research quality assessment (REF-21) which saw the University improve its performance and was 30th in the UK for research impact.”
This year’s QS World University Rankings is their largest ever, with 1,500 universities across 104 locations, up from 1418 last year. The results account for the distribution and performance of 17.5 million academic papers published between 2017 and 2021 and the 141.6 million citations received by those papers; they also account for the expert opinions of over 144,000 academic faculty and over 98,000 employers around the world.
QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said,
“The 2024 QS World University Rankings represents a major step in the evolution of the exercise, marking the most significant innovation in its methodological paradigm since its inception two decades ago. More than ever, it aligns with Gen Z and Alpha priorities, providing institutions with a unique lens through which to assess their performance in areas paramount to shaping a brighter future for generations to come.”
