The results of the prestigious Excellence Ranking of German think tank Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) were published today in the German weekly Die Zeit. Named an ‘Excellence Group’ by the CHE, the Psychology research group now ranks among the Utrecht University research groups of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which were previously identified as being among the best in Europe.
Already ranked ‘excellent’ in 2007, the Utrecht University research groups fared better than those of other prestigious institutions, including Oxford University. The Psychology research group was added to this list today. The research group’s distinguishing features are the high degree of mobility of lecturers and students, as well as the large number of publications and citations attributable to it.
Top group
CHE does not rank universities in a list, but instead divides them into top, medium and bottom groups. Thanks to the ranking of the above research groups, Utrecht University was placed in the top group. Just over 100 European institutions of higher learning have research groups in the abovementioned disciplines – offering Master’s and Doctorate students research opportunities – that are both considered outstanding and have a highly international orientation.
Methods
CHE uses five criteria to assess the European universities. These relate to extraordinary accomplishments in research indicators such as the number of publications and citations attributable to the research group and the degree of international orientation (determined based on Erasmus Mundus Master’s Courses), as well as the mobility of students and lecturers.
More information
Utrecht University Press Communications, +31 (0)30 253 3550, perscommunicatie@uu.nl.
CHE Ranking: www.che-ranking.de
Die Zeit: www.zeit.de/excellenceranking