UK universities fall behind the Japanese in world rankings

‘Taking a hit to its research reputation’

OXFORD and Cambridge have retained the top two spots in a global university league table – but Japan has pushed the UK into third place overall.

Oxford is number one in the international rankings for a third consecutive year, with Cambridge holding on to second from last year.

However, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2019 – an annual table that rates more than 1,250 higher education institutions – show that while the US continues to dominate, the UK has been overtaken as the second most-represented nation for the first time. Japan claimed 103 positions, compared with 98 for Britain.

In addition, the majority of the UK’s universities saw their position in the table either remain static or decline.

The rankings, based on factors that include volume of research and the views of 20,000 academics from across the world, saw Imperial College London, Manchester and Bristol all lose ground. Among the British success stories, University College London climbed two places to number 14; the University of Warwick rose 12 to joint 79th; and the University of Aberdeen soared by 27 to 158th.

However, the University of Dundee slipped out of the global 200.

The University of Baghdad became Iraq’s first entrant in the table’s 15-year history, while others in Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Tanzania also made the grade for the first time.

Apart from Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial in ninth, the rest of the top ten were all US universities.

Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings at Times Higher Education, said: ‘We see some individual stars in the UK this year, but the broader national data story is really one of stagnation and modest decline, with the UK taking a minor hit to its research reputation.

‘Maintaining world-class excellence amid cuts is unsustainable, especially amid intensifying global competition, with many emerging nations placing their own universities at the heart of national economic growth strategies.’