Utrecht University in rankings

Since 2003, international rankings compare universities from all over the world. Together, all rankings provide an indication of a university's achievements. What do they say about Utrecht University?

Worldwide rankings

Most worldwide rankings primarily look at research. The number and the importance of scientific publications are crucial factors, as are 'Highly cited researchers': researchers who belong to the 1 % most-cited scientists.

Rankings have limitations

Although university rankings are a reality, Utrecht University would like to make some important comments. There are three important reasons for this.

  1. First of all, it is virtually impossible to capture the quality of an entire university with all its different programmes and disciplines in a single digit.
  2. Secondly, the ranking bureaus use data and methods that are open to question, as research shows.
  3. Finally, Utrecht University believes that the rankings place too much emphasis on scoring and competition, whereas science actually benefits from collaboration. Collaboration and open science are two of our guiding principles.

We advise students to compare the content and nature of programmes, and researchers to look at the nature of research programmes and working conditions. We are confident that Utrecht University will often be a good choice.

Alternatives to indicate quality

Utrecht University supports several initiatives that resist the dominance of rankings, for example More Than Our Rank and CoARA.

Subject-specific rankings

The ranking bureaus also look at specific fields of expertise. Below, you can find some of the rankings in which Utrecht University receives good scores.

Utrecht University connects these and other fields of expertise in interdisciplinary research themes. Within these strategic themes, researchers from various fields collaborate with each other, with social partners and with corporations. In doing so, they are looking for sustainable solutions to the challenges of this generation and future generations.

National education rankings

Besides the worldwide rankings that look at research, the Netherlands also have a number of education rankings. These look at specific degree programmes and at student satisfaction, among other things. In that regard, Utrecht University is a powerful player in the field of innovation and interdisciplinarity. In these rankings, Utrecht University is usually in the top 3.