Newcastle rises up in global Times’ rankings
The Times ranks Newcastle University in the top 150 universities from around the globe, after placing 12th in the UK
The release of the Times World University Rankings has placed Newcastle University at 146th best university in the world.
That’s up six places from last year and two places above Birmingham University. It is a score that makes Newcastle and Durham the only universities to make the top 200 in the North East with rival Northumbria failing to be classified at all in the top 400. Newcastle also places equal 56th in Europe.
This achievement comes after the University was only recently ranked 12th in the country by The Sunday Times.
Contributing to the improved ranking are the current building developments on campus, including the refrurbishment of the Students’ Union building, as well as the increasing standard of degree classifications and rising academic pedigree.
The University has also been placed in the top 50 for ‘international outlook’, which looks at the proportion of overseas students and staff, as well as the proportion of research papers published with international co-authors.
The usual players dominated the top spots, with the California Institute of Technology in at number one followed by Harvard and Stanford. The University of Oxford took top place for the Brits this year at number four, defeating their rivals Cambridge, with whom they tied last year, who were placed sixth.
However, this year saw some surprising entries in the Top 50. The University of Manchester came in at 48, impressively beating both Durham and St Andrews.
Newcastle University also fought off strong competition from Birmingham and Warwick Universities.
Phil Baty, editor of the World University Rankings said: “I would like to offer my personal congratulations to Newcastle University on an exceptional result.”
However, old polytechnics Lancaster and East Anglia University did place higher than Newcastle, but only just, with East Anglia entering in at 145th.
According to The Times Rankings the United States had the most universities in the top 200, with 74 institutions making it into the standings.
The UK came in second with 31, increasing their total number by three from the 2010 results.
According to the table, the worst regions for studying were South America and Africa with both having less than five universities each making the top 400.
The components of the rankings include the standard of teaching, comprising 30% of the overall score, research score, research and academic citations, both comprising 30% as well, industry outcome (2.5%) and international outlook (7.5%).
In addition to the good news about the global rankings, the teaching at Newcastle University has also been highly praised with nine National Teaching Fellowships being awarded to our academic staff. The library resources and staff have also gained accreditation in being named Outstanding Library Team 2011, particularly for their work on extending the e-book collection.
Career prospects for Newcastle graduates have also been recognised as being outstanding, with the u=University placing 5th in the UK for graduate employability.
Aside from academic benefits The Times have also named Newcastle the top for Student Experience in the North East.
This is mad lol. Why did you mention its “rivals”. Rankings are only statistics. They do not at all show the real picture of a uni! Im starting to realise that after coming to Newcastle. I also realised that when Bath and other top unis were not on the Top 200. Northumbria does boast a much higher employment rate than all the unis in the North East! Plus when I tell my family in the USA aboUT me attending Newcastle Uni, they always say that they’ve never heard of it. Warwick and Manchester boast a much higher international reputation.
Northumbria is up and coming and is haunting us. No doubt.
I totally agree with Nichol. When i applied to Uni I looked at rankings too and I really wish I didn’t. Im currently doing Business Management here. Although there are some practical aspects, its all soo theoretical. You cant even apply it to real life! I told me brother to go Northumbria’s Business School although he got A*AB, and he is doing their Marketing Management course. Northumbria offer so many practical opportunities and they apply theory into practice. I really do wish I gave them a chance.
I cannot believe how biased this article is lol. ” Northumbria failing to be classified at all in the top 400″. It means nothing at all ranking stats. The overall teaching quality at Northumbria is so much higher. It averages at 22/24 rated excellent from it inspections …much higher than Newcastle. Having being a Newcastle Uni student, I dont feel like there’s any DIFFERENCE at all between the both unis. However, Northumbria may produce more better grads because their programmes are more vocationally orientated and they have a much higher employment rate!
Poor Jounalism. It must run through the Newcastle Uni thing. What has happened to this! It used to be well written and so fair and genuine. Who uses language such as “….not being classified AT ALL” in a newspaper article.
Im doing my masters at Northumbria after doing my undergrad at Newcastle. Northumbria is much much stronger in almost every aspect. Just give it time when the stats realise! I did enjoy my time at Newcastle though it was quite snob infested. It is a good uni but it can be overrated at times. But Northumbria is the stronger one.
I used to read The Courier when i was at Newcastle and I cannot believe how poor it has now became. I just thought I would come online and you really do come across as anti-northumbrians promoting rivalry. This might be good though to attract press so that the world knows how you guys are now rolling. BBC North East and ITV North East it is…if i can find the time.
I fail to see how it is “bad journalism” or “biased” to report on the fact that a highly respected university league table has moved Newcastle significantly up in it’s ranks.
The Courier didn’t invent the numbers, and The Times University rankings are among the most reputable in the world; a failure to report this news is what would be considered bad journalism. Furthermore given that there are two other prominent universities in this part of the north east, I don’t really see why the writer would ignore the performance of the ther two, it provides a wider context to the article.
Just because you don’t agree with the findings of the league table doesn’t reflect at all on the quality of The Courier, and it certainly doesn’t make the article biased.
Hey Jack, I am not disagreeing with the rankings. No doubt, Newcastle is a good uni. As a previous Newcastle student, I would know! It is the way the article is written. How biased an opinionated “does not being classified AT ALL” sound. It is such a normative statement rather than a positive statement. And news articles have to try and be as positive as possible. I am not disagreeing with the league tables. I feel as though when you used the term “rivals”….it is promoting rivalry between the two! Both unis compliment each other- and i do not think “rival’ is the right term to use especially for a university newspaper article. And why wasn’t sunderland and Teesside mentioned. It does show the intentions.
I have not said the Newcastle is a poor uni. But I hope you get the point
Was Northumbria classified in the top 400 at all? No it wasn’t. There is no ambiguity in that statement , it is a fact, and therefore it cant be normative. It isn’t an opinion or a value judgement, just a statement of fact.
Whether rivalry is good or not, it does exist, and mentioning this in an article is hardly tantamount to promoting it.
LOL..it doesnt matter…you won’t understand then. You would have expected better language though. The courier used to be well written when i was at newcastle though. But good day.
I understand perfectly well Mel, you are just incorrect.
LOL…Im just talking sense. You hold your head up so high that you do not even wish to listen or understand other people’s judgements. Typical lol. I don’t know why you’re even being rude
.
Northumbria ranks much higher in terms of employability,
This is for you Jack for being so rude:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/jul/15/employment-statistics-university-graduates
Mel, I’m not discussing the relative merits of each university, I’m challenging your assertion that the article is written in a “biased” and “normative” manner, so your link doesn’t really have any relevance to my previous points.
Whilst we’re at it though..
I would hardly describe a 1% difference as “much higher”.
Furthermore, I would suggest that a simple “percentage in employment” figure does not necessarily paint the whole picture. If we consider “employability” as referring to one’s ability to get a ‘good’ job, you would need to study the actual destination of graduates. It’s possible that the 91.2% of NCL graduates in employment or further study are in a better position than the 92.3% from northumbria. Obviously this is just my speculation, but it’s perfectly possible.
Ultimately, the method used in that Guardian report is a very crude measure of ‘employability’.
Hope this post wasn’t too “rude” for you.
That is better Jack lol. I would highly suggest The Courier Team to do a journalism course…..Northumbria do a fantastic one just to let you know…Ok Jack this is crazy..I love both unis…The use of language in the article just annoyed me slightly, and made Northumbria sound like a poor institution…especially “failing to be classified at all”…but it doesnt matter.
Right, oooh employment doesn’t paint the real piccy of a uni eh? Well people do aim to got uni to try to raise their employment prospects….don’t they? The whole point of a degree is, not only to enjoy and study a subject you want to do, but to get a job at the end of it. I wonder what you are intending to do after you graduate, but im guessing your not going to look for a job?
Ermm…..the Guardian did NOT measure the employability rate….Each and every uni are obliged to give their stats to the government and other publishing bodies. So sorry mate you’re wrong about that.
And yes i do agree with you about the destination of grads in employability. But I still do not believe a Newcastle degree will get you any further than a Northumbria One. Northumbria has an excellent Business School- a lot of people pick it over Newcastle. My best friend’s little sister chose their corporate Management course of your Business management course and she got AAA. It also has a very good Law School too. So its hard to really say that a Newcastle degree, particularly in Business will get you any further than a Northumbria. Furthermore, although Newcastle has a good rep for Medicine and Biomed, Northumbria still beat them in terms of employability…..check unistats. But Newcastle is still excellent for biomed, and has a brill rep.
Im just trying to change your perceptions a bit Jack. Hope I helped
. BTW…Newcastle is a good uni…no doubt…and i know that 
“Right, oooh employment doesn’t paint the real piccy of a uni eh?” Youve totally misrepresented what I was saying in this paragraph. What I said was that a simple figure of how many are employed doesn’t tell the whole story about how successful those graduates are in employment. It doesn’t look at the proportion of those who are actually in “graduate” jobs, for instance. To actually work out how successful Northumbria and Newcastle graduates are relative to each other, you can’t simply rely on the measure of what percentage are employed, and the perceptions of your friend’s sister, I’m afraid.
Also regarding medicine, I’m not entirely sure how Northumbria can beat Newcastle’s 100% employment rate for medics (see unistats), but that’s very impressive indeed.
“Ermm…..the Guardian did NOT measure the employability rate….Each and every uni are obliged to give their stats to the government and other publishing bodies. So sorry mate you’re wrong about that.” I didn’t say they did, I just referred to it as the Guardian report, because it was in the Guardian… “mate”.
erm…matey…Northumbria dont do medicine :L….and yes i know Newcastle has a 100% employment rate for medicine. And i know you cant fault Newcastle Medical School. Type in “allied to medicine” in unistats then you will see a 85% employment rate. LOL…well look at the company links Northumbria’s business school has…UBS, Accenture, KPMG, Disney, IMm (look at their undergrad brochure on their website), I can guarantee you that Northumbria students are not disadvantaged when compared to an institution like Newcastle Uni. Plus people have similar grades AAA-ABB, and their hands on approach to education seems very desirable to employers.
What do you study anyways?
Can i just ask…what is ur opinion of Northumbria? Be honest? I wont be offended because i was also a newcastle student anyways.
I’m aware that Northumbria don’t do medicine, which I think says a lot in itself doesn’t it.
” I can guarantee you that Northumbria students are not disadvantaged when compared to an institution like Newcastle Uni.” Unless you’re an expert in the field of graduate recruitment I don’t really feel you’re in a position to make that guarantee.
Re; the business school, Again, you’ve just sort of listed a load of anecdotal evidence.
I don’t particularly have much of an opinion on Northumbria. My point is simply that you can’t prove Northumbria’s graduates to be more successful in employment. Without any actual empirical evidence, there is no proof either way, just speculation.
Why do you want to know my course?
Jack you’re immature!
LOOL….you’re not the brightest person are you? You do know that Newcastle has been teaching medicine for quite a while? There is no way in earth the government will set two medical training centres in the same city! They have to spread them about so that the supply of doctors are fairly dispersed! Thus Northumbria not offering it.
“which I think says a lot in itself doesn’t it”.–Hmmm.
You do know that people in the North East do not distinguish or compare Newcastle or Northumbria Unis because they both have very good reps. They’re both known to have better reps that Sunderland and Teesside.
Although Northumbria uni is a newer uni, it worked heard to earn its reputation, and it defo does have an exciting future. But anyways, I did law at Newcastle and graduated with a first and then I topped up with a MSc in Global financial Management. I really liked Newcastle though, but after visiting Northumbria’s open day, I was so impressed! I also met post grads on their LPC from Durham, Oxford and Cambridge- so Northumbria rep cant be that bad lol- and ok ok ok—I’ve just recently got a job as an INvestment Banker.
I dont care about your empirical data because that doesnt always show anything.For example….in the league tables– Warwick is ranked in the top 10 in the UK, but is ranked below Newcastle in the times world league tables. Also look at Durham, it has such a good rep in the UK but it is only ranked 85 whereas Manchester which is ranked 31st in the UK, is ranked within the top 50 in the world. Empirical data shows nothing- it can usually involve flawed methodology!
well i was just asking what you were study…don’t have to have fit with it lol.
oh and 96% of Northumbria Business school students go in to employment or further study compared to 83% of Newcastle University Business School students…there is some empirical data for you…I hope your happy now :p
“Jack you’re immature!
LOOL….you’re not the brightest person are you?”
Talking of immaturity, remember when we used to use the phrase ‘LOOL’ when were, oh, about 14 years old??? I don’t know what they’re teaching you at your ‘masters’ at Northumbria dear, but grammar and punctuation clearly isn’t on the syllabus.
No grammar and punctuation is NOT on the syllabus at Northumbria because Northumbria degrees are so much challenging than that. I guess Newcastle still go over it with you guys? That’s the standards of Newcastle Uni.
I’ll excuse your bad punctutation and grammar for the time being-I understand how hard it must be to type with such a large chip on your shoulder.
aaaaaawwww……that is very sweet!
well i dnt hav any tym 2 spend check my typing errors. Im a busy woman! Bless u, u must not have anything to do in your spare time!
Yes Mel, you’re so busy yet you’ve got time to check this article for new comments seemingly almost every day.
well as an ex- newcastle student, i always used to read the courier. When i realised it was online i thought i would check it out very occasionally. I haven’t been on here on a while. The article was on ” the most comment section” so i thought i just check out if you guys wrote or replied back to the large reply to jack’s post. Jack did not reply so i guess i won over that debate/ argument. I don’t check everyday Jack so get your facts write. I just checked out the newcastle uni business school building and it loooks amazing…random i know, but i thought i would just say.
right* not write…that was a carless mistake
I tend to find replying to a broken record gets tedious after a while.
Very Good
mel. you is chattin bare rubbish. you says newc and poly don’t have a rivalry. you ever heard of stan calvert?
Love these comments lol. Erm i came from Manchester and I wanted to apply to Newcastle because of the student life. Since Northumbria is a post 1992 uni, as is Manchester Met, I thought Northumbria would be similar in terms of rep, quality and standards. I did not visit the uni for an open day either. But when i came to Newcastle, it was apparent that Northumbria’s reputation was just probably as high as Newcastle’s (especially in the region), when compared to other unis like Sunderland and Teesside. Northumbria’s Business School is fantastic, I have friends there who are doing placements in really really good firms, and who are hoping to get excellent jobs. So now, I can surely say that Northumbria is a vert very good uni. Grades are really high too..like 3 A’s for their corporate management-so we defo cant call them dumb.
But as for Newcastle, it still has the better rep (hehehehe), but it won’t be long until Northumbria catches up- it will defo be the new ‘Warwick’ in the future.
And ‘G’ yes i do agree with you….there is huge rivalry. Newcastle all the way
Mel- There will always be rivalry between these two unis! So I don’t know what you’re on about. But I do agree with with some things you say about Northumbria.
I thought Northumbria was like Leeds met or something like that- or something like a typical ex-poly with a rubbish rep. (Im not a northerner). But I was quite shocked after looking at Northumbria- There seems to be no difference in terms of academic quality or reputation. Although our law school is highly respected (well according to league table stats which may not be reliable), Northumbria’s Law programmes are really good; I cannot fault them. I can guarantee you that if their Law programmes were taught by an other uni, e.g. Warwick or Durham, or LSE, demand for such degree courses would be so intensely high. But having say that, many people have picked Northumbria over us (sadly), including my girlfriend’s brother. I think the only difference between Newcastle and Northumbria is the league tables rankings (which are only stats including entry standards). I would not mind attending Northumbria, but i would NEVER go to Sunderland or Teesside.
We did very well in the world league tables. Very impressive.