The University of Queensland has cracked the top 100 for the first time in the prestigious 2011 Academic Rankings of World Universities announced today.

UQ was ranked one of the top three universities in the country, moving up to a world ranking of 86 from a previous ranking in the 101-150 band.

The University of Queensland joins the University of Geneva (73rd) and the University of Frankfurt (100) in being ranked in ARWU’S top 100 universities for the first time.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield said: “I pay tribute to the researchers who have thrust UQ into the top 90 of a global ranking system that is widely viewed as the most research-focused.

“Research excellence is increasingly a hallmark of global leadership, and this ranking will be regarded by many as a stamp of UQ’s distinction in a very competitive world industry.

“All rankings have limitations, but the new ARWU table corroborates other global indices that clearly place UQ in the top 1 per cent of global universities.

“Having four Australian universities in the ARWU top 100 reflects the quality of our research community and the determination of universities to succeed in a challenging global environment.

“It is to be hoped that leaders in government and industry will see the value of strong investment in a sector that receives such high appraisal from an independent global ranker.”

UQ is the only Queensland university ranked in the top 100.

UQ improved its international rankings by broad subject fields in the Life and Agriculture Science from a 2010 ranking in the 51-75 band to be ranked at 50 in the top 50 internationally.

It was also ranked in the 52-75 band internationally in engineering/technology and computer engineering, and in the 51-75 band in clinical medicine and pharmacy.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities was first published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China in 2003, then updated on an annual basis.

Since 2009 it has been compiled by an independent organisation, the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy and was released today by the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The ARWU uses a number of objective indicators to rank world universities.

They include:

• the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals,

• number of highly cited researchers selected by Thomson Scientific,

• number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science,

• number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index - Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, and

• per capita performance with respect to the size of an institution.

More than 1000 universities are ranked by ARWU every year and the best 500 are published on the web at http://www.shanghairanking.com/index.html

UQ has also ranked in the top one per cent of universities in the world in rankings including the QS World University Rankings 2010 (rank 43rd); Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-2011 (rank 81st); and in the QS Global rankings of universities by subjects released in July.

Find out more about UQ at the UQ Open Day on August 24 from 2.30pm to 6.30pm at the Ipswich campus, or August 21 at the Gatton campus from 9am to 3pm. Details: www.uq.edu.au/openday/

Media: Jan King 0413 601 248