University of Glasgow improves again in THE World University Rankings

Published: 2 September 2021

The University has moved up to 86th in the world, up six places from last year's result

The University of Glasgow has improved its position among the top 100 universities in the 2022 THE (Times Higher Education) World University Rankings.

The University has moved up to 86th in the world, up six places from 92nd in 2021 and 99th in 2020. We also rank 10th in the UK in this year’s results.

Our improved position is largely due to our performance in the Research and Teaching pillars where we increased by 13 and nine rank places respectively.

The University also returned improved results on last year for Citations and International Outlook pillars, a full breakdown of the data is now available on THE World University Rankings 2022 website.

The THE World University Rankings are the only global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “It is heartening to see the University of Glasgow once again improve its standing in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, despite ever increasing competition on the global stage.

“These results are testament to the quality of our teaching, research and international reputation and, of course, the people who deliver them. I’d like to offer my congratulations and thanks to all colleagues whose efforts over this most challenging year have ensured we have consolidated our position as one of the leading universities in the UK and the world.”

Rachel Sandison, Vice-Principal, External Relations, said: “I’m delighted that we have risen in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. When taken alongside other recent successes, including our improvement in the QS World Rankings and the accolade of being THE University of the Year, it further emphasises the growing reputation of the University of Glasgow within the sector.

“Whilst appreciating that league tables can only tell us so much, it is nevertheless heartening to see that the hard work and dedication of colleagues at the University is reflected in this way, and we should be proud of this success.”

Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education (THE), said: “This year’s THE World University Rankings were based on detailed data submissions from over 2,000 of the world’s leading research-intensive universities from 111 countries and include an analysis of 108 million citations to 14.4 million research publications, as well as a survey of more than 22,000 scholars globally, among 13 comprehensive and balanced performance indicators. So Glasgow’s consistent rises, against rigorous global performance data and mounting competition, is particularly impressive and is testament to the strength-in-depth at the university.

“We are seeing record levels of performance from mainland China, and some of the best positions ever for key East Asian nations, including South Korea, Japan and Singapore, so this really is an impressive result for Glasgow.”


First published: 2 September 2021