UVic shines again in international science rankings

The University of Victoria once again ranks in the top tier of universities in the world for scientific influence, according to the prestigious 2014 CWTS Leiden Ranking, released in late April.

In terms of scientific impact, UVic ranks fourth overall in Canada—behind Toronto, UBC and McGill—and is the top-ranked university in the country without a medical school.

The ranking also shows that UVic continues to be a major player in the international scientific community—it’s ranked number one in internationally co-authored research among Canadian universities.

The annual rankings measure the scientific performance of 750 major universities worldwide, focusing exclusively on citation impact and scientific collaboration. Citations within a scholarly paper measure a researcher's influence over time.

By field of study, among Canadian universities, UVic’s influence ranks second in math, computer science and engineering; third in Earth and environmental sciences; fifth in natural sciences and social sciences; and sixth in life sciences and cognitive sciences.

“It’s no surprise to us that UVic is such a hotbed of international influence and collaboration in research, because we consistently place at or near the top of many rankings,” says Dr. Howard Brunt, vice-president research. “This ranking is especially gratifying because it’s based on how valuable our work is to other researchers around the world.”

Among the 750 universities worldwide, UVic is in 183rd place for overall scientific impact.

Rankings are regularly used by undergraduate and postgraduate students to select degree courses, by academics to inform career decisions, by research teams to identify new partners, and by university administrators to benchmark their performance and set strategic priorities.

To view the rankings, visit http://www.leidenranking.com/