Academic Centre
University of Latvia (UL) for the first time ranked among the world’s leading universities in Rankings for physical sciences subjects – mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, environmental, earth and marine sciences subjects, confirms Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
The 2019 THE World University Rankings for physical sciences subjects uses the same rigorous and balanced range of 13 performance indicators as the overall THE World University Rankings, but the methodology has been recalibrated to suit the individual fields. The main indicators include teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).
The UL Vice-rector for Exact Sciences, Life and Medical Sciences; Professor Valdis Segliņš is sure that being a part of Rankings for physical sciences subjects confirms the competitiveness of UL: “It is both surprising and encouraging to be in Rankings despite the limited resources. Research in the exact sciences is the most resource-intensive and expensive, and the most difficult to achieve success in. With the current state support for science, where the smallest part is allocated to higher education institutions, I am convinced that this achievement is possible solely due to the University's indefatigable people.”
V. Segliņš emphasizes that THE Rankings are extensively acknowledged worldwide. The greatest interest is generated among those who want to commence studies at higher level study programmes, and the UL as a place of studies offers growing competitiveness, high quality research and opportunities for swift career growth in research.
Rankings include two higher education institutions of Latvia – UL and Riga Technical University, both share 801+ place. Leading position in rankings of physical sciences is taken by the universities of the USA: the first place – Princeton University, the second place – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while the third place – Stanford University.
In 2019, THE prepares league tables, ranking universities in 11 different subject areas – clinical, pre-clinical and health; life sciences; physical sciences; psychology; arts and humanities; education; law; social sciences; business and economics; computer science; engineering and technology.
More information about the rankings is available here.
