University research recognized in latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings
For the fifth consecutive year, Virginia Tech has been ranked in the 251-300 range overall in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Virginia Tech was listed No. 63 among U.S. institutions in the annual rankings, which were released this week. And the university ranked tied for No. 15 among public Carnegie Class-Very High Research land-grant universities, which is one of the university’s key performance indicators as part of its global distinction mission.
This ranking judges excellence on a global scale. Virginia Tech was ranked out of 2,191 universities and has been in this range for five consecutive years even as the total number of institutions rated continues to grow. Last year, Times Higher Education ranked 2,092 universities worldwide.
The methodology for the ranking, which reflects the outputs of the diverse range of research-intensive universities, considers 18 indicators across five key pillars:
- Teaching: The learning environment
- Research environment: Volume, income, and reputation
- Research quality: Citation impact, research strength, research excellence, and research influence
- International outlook: Staff, students, and research
- Industry: Income and patents
Research quality and research environment account for 60 percent of a university’s overall score. Virginia Tech’s highest ranked pillar was research quality, which includes metrics related to citation impact, research strength, research excellence, and research influence. Research quality looks at universities’ role in spreading new knowledge and ideas.
Virginia Tech’s score in research quality was 77.5. The university’s second-best score came in industry, which measures a university’s ability to help industry with innovations, inventions and consultancy has become a core mission of the contemporary global academy. Virginia Tech scored 76.7.
Both scores ranked among the top 25 percent of institutions worldwide.
“Our achievements are a testament to the talented and committed researchers and staff who deliver exceptional standards of teaching and learning and conduct globally impactful research,” Dan Sui, senior vice president of research and innovation, said. “Our research output, quality, and investment continue to improve, and we see that reflected in our academic standing. Virginia Tech is being noticed because of our commitment to using big ideas to solve problems and change the world around us.”
Some of Virginia Tech’s research emphasis was on display this summer when Times Higher Education released its Impact rankings, which focus on sustainable development goals. Projects such as focusing on the launching of a biocontrol program in Bangladesh to combat invasive weeds and improve crop production and Ozzie Abaye’s emphasis on mung bean production in Senegal to combat food insecurity led to strong scores.
Other important ongoing research projects including research on wireless network security, smarter ways of controlling mosquitoes and their spread of deadly viruses, a project focusing on reducing motorcycle crashes in low-income countries, continuing to find new uses for cutting-edge advanced manufacturing while also preparing students to meet future workforce needs, and using artificial intelligence to predict and visualize what’s going on inside people when novel viruses or devastating neurological diseases attack – and offering a pathway to treat or prevent them.
Virginia Tech has chosen the two Times Higher Education rankings – the World University rankings and the Impact rankings – as proxies to assess strategic progress related to the university’s land-grant mission.
