Plymouth University named among the world’s elite for impact of scientific research

Plymouth University has been ranked among the global elite of higher education for the quality of its research across a number of scientific fields.

The annual QS World University Rankings by Subject aim to identify the top 200 universities in the world in certain subject areas based on their reputation and research citations.

The 2014 rankings show Plymouth among the top 100 universities in the world for the quality of its Geography research, in the top 150 for Earth and Marine Sciences and in the top 200 globally for the Environmental Sciences.

The positions all represent improvements on previous years, demonstrating the continued efforts made to ensure all research undertaken in Plymouth possesses both influence and impact.

Professor Simon Handley, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Environment at Plymouth University, said: “This is fantastic news for the University, and a clear indication of the world leading expertise in evidence right across the Faculty. By continuing to develop our programmes of world class research, and research informed teaching, we are developing enterprising and inspired graduates who will play a key role in meeting the global scientific and environmental challenges facing not just this, but also future generations.”

Plymouth was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2012, in recognition of its marine and maritime teaching and research, while the pioneering research programmes run through the School of Geography Earth and Environmental Sciences are widely regarded both nationally and internationally.

The QS subject rankings were launched in 2011, and compare more than 2,000 higher education establishments around the world. They are developed through responses taken from some 70,000 academic experts and graduate recruiters worldwide.

Academics identify the leading universities within the field and area of expertise, while employers name the universities that they regard as producing the most outstanding graduates in a given discipline.

They also inform the overall QS World University Rankings, which highlight the top 4% of universities globally, and in which Plymouth featured for the first time in 2013.