Pioneering stem cell research propels trio to top of 2011 QS

- Seven Australian universities in top 50 for Psychology, led by Melbourne (8). 17 Australian universities featured in Top 200
- Harvard tops first QS World University Rankings® for Life Sciences in Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology
- Harvard first and MIT third in medicine following joint stem cell research; Cambridge second after IVF breakthrough
- Cambridge beats Oxford but both make top 4 in all subjects

Australian Universities in the Top 200
University Biological Sciences Medicine Psychology
University of Melbourne 25= 15 8
University of Sydney 40 29 11
Australian National University (ANU) 35 46= 20
University of Queensland (UQ) 38 33= 26
University of New South Wales (UNSW) 51-100 51-100 33
Monash University 51-100 36= 35
University of Western Australia (UWA) 101-150 51-100 45=
Macquarie University - 151-200 51-100
University of Adelaide 101-150 51-100 51-100
La Trobe University - - 101-150
Queensland University of Technology - - 101-150
University of Newcastle 151-200 101-150 101-150
Curtin University of Technology - - 151-200
Flinders University - 151-200 151-200
James Cook University - - 151-200
RMIT University - - 151-200
University of South Australia - - 151-200

Top 200 universities by country:
Country Biological Sciences Medicine Psychology
US 69 54 58
UK 28 30 29
Australia 9 12 17
New Zealand 6 2 4
Canada 9 13 14
Japan 8 4 8

Full results will be available here on 4th May.

Harvard’s triumph in the QS World University Rankings® for Medicine follows pioneering work in stem cell research carried out in collaboration with third-placed MIT at the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Faculty. The universities’ most widely cited work was in embryonic stem cell research, the subject of a Bush administration funding ban, repealed by Barack Obama in 2009.

Meanwhile, second-placed Cambridge hit the headlines in 2010 when its long-term work in embryonic stem cell research and IVF led to the Nobel Prize for Professor Martin Evans, sparking criticism from the Catholic Church. The university ranks second for both academic and employer reputation, reflecting the recent high profile of its medical faculty.

The University of Melbourne, the top performing Australian institution, has recently made several major research breakthroughs, including the possible treatment of the fatal Huntington’s disease. The rumoured budget cuts to medical research funding have caused a stir among academics and the medical community as Australia needs to maintain or increase its investment in this area if it wants to remain a global leader in health and medical research.

Over 50,000,000 people have viewed QS World University Rankings® in the past 12 months, and the QS Global Academic Advisory Board has developed the first ever QS World University Rankings® by Subject in response to a demand for more granular detail. Universities have been ranked based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research citations, with weightings tailored to each subject.

“QS subject rankings reflect cutting-edge research in life sciences, both through highly cited research papers and academic reputation.” says Ben Sowter, head of QS Intelligence Unit. “And employer evaluations correlate highly with academic opinion in these subjects.”

ENDS

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