Durham plummets to 198th place in Times Higher Education world rankings
By Waseem Mohamed
Durham University has fallen a further 36 places in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) World Rankings, ranking joint 198th in the 2023 rankings released earlier this week. This marks the eighth consecutive year in which Durham has fallen within these rankings, after Durham ranked 162nd in last year’s rankings.
Overall, THE gave Durham a score of 54.4, which is a weighted score based upon five separate factors – teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook. In 2016, Durham had ranked as high as 70th in the THE World Rankings with a score of 63.6, but the University has seen its ranking fall 128 places since then.
Out of the 103 UK universities included in this year’s rankings, Durham ranked joint 26th in the country alongside Queen’s Belfast and Reading University. Oxford ranked 1st in the THE World Rankings for the seventh year running, with two further UK universities making the global top 10 – Cambridge (3rd) and Imperial College London (10th).
Durham has performed much more strongly amongst national university rankings this year, as the University ranked 6th overall in three separate national guides this year (The Times, The Guardian and Complete University Guide). Durham’s reputation was further bolstered when The Times proclaimed the University as Sports University Of The Year, for the first time since 2015.
“We are pleased that the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 have recognised our global outlook”
Durham university spokesperson
This year’s THE World Rankings were the most extensive yet, with 1,799 universities being ranked from 104 countries. The rankings were notable this year for the apparent rise of universities in Asia reaching the higher positions, with Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer for the THE commenting: “The data is very clear: we are seeing a real shift in the balance of power in the global knowledge economy, away from the traditionally dominant western world.
“While the US and UK remain dominant in terms of their representation at the very top of the rankings, their relative power is waning: mainland China leads a strengthening in East Asia, taking more and more of the top 200 places, and the Middle East is seeing a real renaissance in higher education, with Saudi Arabia, in particular, making major gains, and the United Arab Emirates also strengthening.”
Responding to its positioning in the THE World Rankings this year, a Durham University spokesperson said: “Durham University is a global university and continues to perform strongly in UK and international rankings, including recently being named The Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year.
“We are pleased that the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 have recognised our global outlook, which includes welcoming staff and students from 120 countries and leading international research collaborations that are tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the world today.
“We continue to strive to ensure Durham is an inspiring place to study, work and live, and we’re grateful for the dedication of our staff, students and partners in achieving this together.”
Image Credit – Mark Norton
