Durham University falls in nearly half of world subject rankings
In the Times Higher Education World University 2024 world University rankings Durham University has fallen in the ranks in four out of the ten subject areas it monitors. Of these four subjects, Durham performed in the top 100 in three of them.
Subjects which had fallen in the rankings are Education, Physical Science, Arts and Humanities and Law.
In all subject areas that have fallen in the rankings, 2024 marks the third consecutive year where the subjects had fallen. All subject areas had been ranked in the top 100 in the world in 2022, with Physical Science, which had been ranked 99th now ranking between 126-150th. Only one subject area, Social Science, rose into the top 100.
Despite falling in many subjects, Durham University overall rose in the rankings from 198 to 174.
A Durham University spokesperson told Palatinate that “Durham University is consistently ranked highly in both UK and international rankings…we monitor and review our performance in the global and domestic rankings annually and will be analysing the most recent rankings in due course.”
Durham University fell in the rankings for education, Physical Science, Arts and Humanities and Law
Arts and Humanities, which has fallen 13 places in three years and 20 places from its ranking of 19th in 2021, received a significant funding increase this year. On its website Durham University said that the Medical Humantities, part of the Arts and Humanities school was “ recently awarded £9 million to develop the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities”
On their website they also said that the Law School was “ranked in the UK top five and its graduates are much prized by employees”
The results of this ranking comes as the University was downgraded from Gold to Silver in the Teaching excellence Framework and fell in the Guardian, The Times and the Complete University Guides for 2024.
The University did however rise in the QS World University rankings, where it rose from 92th to 78th.
A Durham University spokesperson said: “Durham University is consistently ranked highly in both UK and international rankings. Such rankings assess hundreds of universities around the world and, in a highly competitive field, it is rewarding to see that Durham continues to be recognised as a global centre of excellence.
“We monitor and review our performance in the global and domestic rankings annually and will be analysing the most recent rankings in due course. It should be noted that there is often a lag between rankings results and the actual activity in question and this needs to be recognised when considering the impact of associated actions and resource allocation.
“We monitor and review our performance in the global and domestic rankings annually and will be analysing the most recent rankings in due course.”
Durham University spokesperson
“It should also be noted that there is an inherent volatility in rankings from one year to another. This reflects a variety of factors out of the control of the University and small differences in absolute performance can sometimes result in significant changes in rankings.
“As well as our most recent results in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject 2024, we are also ranked 78th in the QS World University Rankings 2024, and 7th in both the Guardian University Guide 2024 and the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
“We have been further recognised as a world top 100 University in the THE Impact and QS Sustainability Rankings.
“Such results are a credit to the outstanding teaching and research carried out at our University and we are committed to ensuring that Durham is an inspiring place to study, work and live.”
Image: Thomas Tomlinson
