2010 was an outstanding year for Nordic universities in the QS World University Rankings®. There were 24 universities from the region in the overall top 500, of which a remarkable 20 improved on their 2009 position.
Increased scores for research citations and greater recognition from both academics and employers in this year’s rankings suggest that the region’s top universities can now compete with the very best that Europe has to offer.
45. University of Copenhagen
Still the region’s premier university and one of the leading institutions in Europe, the University of Copenhagen moves up six places from its 2009 position, breaking into the world top 50. Copenhagen improved its score in the academic peer review, and made the top 100 in four of the five subject areas: natural sciences (47), social sciences (56), life sciences (56) and arts and humanities (62=).
Though Copenhagen ranks much lower for research citations, for prospective undergraduate students this is made up for by its intensive approach to undergraduate teaching. Copenhagen ranks 14 for student/faculty ratio, a performance bettered by only Moscow State University and Oxford University among large, comprehensive institutions worldwide.
62. Uppsala University
Uppsala moved up 13 places this year to 62nd overall, leapfrogging Lund University as Sweden’s top performer and underlining its reputation as one of the region’s strongest all-round institutions. The university makes the top 100 in four of the five academic subject areas, with particularly strong performances in life sciences (52) and arts and humanities (60=).
Consistent with its strong performance in the academic peer review, Uppsala’s major strength is research. An improvement of 20 places for citations per faculty member saw it rank 50th in this measure in 2010, higher than any other Nordic university. However, a ranking of 263 for student/faculty ratio suggests that the flipside of this emphasis on research may be larger class sizes.
72. Lund University
Lund maintains a strong performance this year despite dropping five places to 72 and falling behind Uppsala as Sweden’s top performer. A strong all-rounder, Lund makes the top 100 in four of the five subject areas (the exception being engineering and technology, in which it ranks a creditable 101=), with its strongest performances being in life sciences (58=) and natural sciences (67).
Positives included an improved score for research citations, pointing to the increased influence of Lund’s research among the global academic community. However, perhaps of most interest to prospective undergraduate students will be a big increase in the university’s score in the employer review, suggesting Lund graduates are now being better equipped with the skills to thrive in the job market.
75=. University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki was one of the big success stories of the 2010 QS World University Rankings®. Finland’s leading university made improvements in all of the individual ranking criteria, and moved up from 108 to 75= overall. It also performed well in the individual subject area rankings, making the Top 100 for arts and humanities (53), life sciences (58=) and social sciences (87).
Helsinki’s greatly increased scores for international staff and student/faculty ratio suggest that investment has been made in teaching resources, reducing class sizes. While the university is still more highly rated by academics than graduate employers, its hugely improved level of recognition in this year’s recruiter review will be good news for both current and prospective students.+
84. Aarhus University
Despite maintaining its place in the global Top 100, Aarhus was one of the few Nordic universities not to improve on its 2009 ranking, dropping from 63 to 84. This was mostly due to a significant drop in its score for citations per faculty member, indicating reduced research output. Perhaps related to this, the university also fell 29 places to finish outside of the top 100 in the academic peer review.
However, Aarhus remains the second highest-ranked Danish university, and makes the world top 200 in four of the five subject areas, of which its highest placing is 89, for natural sciences. The university’s strong commitment to undergraduate teaching resources is reflected in a rank of 53 for student/faculty ratio, higher than the likes of King’s College London and McGill University.
As in previous years, Norway’s top performer was the University of Oslo. The university moved up one place to 100 this year, meaning Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway now all boast at least one institution in the world Top 100.
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