KTH's ranking rises among world's best universities

The university advanced particularly in the THE measurement of research and education. At the same time, there has been a slight increase in KTH’s field-normalised citation rate.

The advancement is considered noteworthy given the decline in the proportion of international students at the university, which would typically have a negative impact on results.

Also notable is that KTH is ranked 34th best university worldwide in the field of Engineering and Technology. KTH is ranked 13th among the world’s technical universities, and sixth among Europe’s.

Coming soon after the QS rankings, the THE list underscores the university’s momentum, says KTH President Peter Gudmundson. “It is exciting that the Times Higher Education rankings confirm the positive results released a couple of weeks ago in the QS rankings,” Gudmundson says.

“It feels like KTH is on an upward spiral,” Gudmundson.

The upward trend was evident in mid-September, when the QS World University Rankings lifted KTH 24 places higher than the previous year – from 142nd to 118th place.

KTH’s ranking expert, Per-Anders Östling says: “The results show that it is going very well and that KTH definitely strengthened its reputation both in research and education.”

For the 20,000 universities and institutions of higher education in the world, earning a spot among the 400 most prestigious schools on the THE list is an extraordinary feat.

The list is widely considered the most important and prestigious ranking in the world, based on extensive and diverse measurements. The 200 universities at the top of the list receive an individual placement based on a variety of criteria and indicators that measure such factors as citations of scientific papers, the degree of internationalization, and a university's reputation in research and education.

“A high teacher-to-student ratio, internationalisation, and a high degree of co-publication are examples of where KTH is well placed,” says Östling. “Another is the relatively high proportion of economic benefits from industry.”

 But what explains this kind of result?

“In part, the ranking shows that KTH is a leading institution of higher education; and it further increases KTH’s visibility and strengthens its brand,” he says.

What does it mean for KTH's competitiveness?

“Besides the prestige, it makes it easier to get research grants and to attract international students, researchers and partners,” Östling says.

In some countries, rankings play an even a more significant role:

“It can, for example, make it possible for a graduate to get a residence permit if his or her university is listed in the rankings,” he says.

Times Higher Education homepage

Read more about KTH placement on the QS World University Rankings

For more information contact, Per-Anders Ostling ranking expert at KTH at +46 (0) 8-790 72 03 or paos@kth.se

Jill Klackenberg