We’re delighted to announce that the University of Tasmania has again risen further in the highly regarded ARWU international ranking scheme, positioning itself in the top 300 universities worldwide for the first time.

Compiled annually by the Centre for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranks the top research universities of a global field of about 24,000.

Prior to 2010, the University of Tasmania had placed consistently at around 400 but has steadily climbed the ARWU list over the past six years to place at 294 this year. Another influential scheme, The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, places the University of Tasmania at 286.

University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen said the sustained rise in international rankings was reflective of the institution’s focus on globally impactful research.

“Our intent is to be world-class in all respects so that our students receive a world-class qualification, so that our university attracts the best and brightest, and so that we grow together on a foundation of meaningful and globally impactful research,” Professor Rathjen said.

“This thirst for excellence has driven our academic reprofiling program, which has seen us recruit outstanding scholars from around the world, and our focus on key research themes that tackle deeply complex and pressing challenges.”

There are a number of rankings released by organisations throughout the world and the ARWU is widely considered to be one of the most influential. The ARWU rankings are created using a range of indicators including the number of alumni winning major prizes, the number of academic citations and the number of articles in respected journals.

You can find out more about the University’s performance in the latest rankings by visiting the ARWU site.