The University of Essex is amongst the world's elite institutions in eight subjects covered by the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Three social science subject areas at Essex are ranked by QS in the top 100 in the world – Sociology alongside Politics and International Studies are ranked in the top 30 globally with Social Policy and Administration in the top 100.

Other subjects in the top 150 include Economics and Linguistics, while humanities subjects English Language and Literature, and Law earn a place in the top 200. Computer Science and Information Systems also wins a place in the subject rankings.

The latest QS rankings follow on from Essex being ranked 4th in the UK for social science research and in the top 20 overall for research excellence in the Research Excellence Framework, the national assessment of research quality and impact undertaken in 2014.

To compile the rankings, QS evaluated 4,226 universities and analysed more than 113 million citations attributions. The QS team looks at the reputation of universities within the academic community and gathers feedback from leading employers. This is then combined with the number of citations per paper for each subject area and an analysis of the productivity and impact of research.

Executive Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Roger Hawkins said: “The latest QS World University Rankings by Subject show we are a global leader in the social sciences with a particularly strong performance in our metrics for citations and research impact.

“The positive feedback gathered by QS from the global academic community and top employers reveals how Essex is seen as shaping thinking and influencing the world.

“We believe our commitment to world-class research informs the delivery of a transformative educational experience for our students.”

Executive Dean for the Faculty of Humanities Professor Lorna Fox O'Mahony said: “We believe our research should have a real impact, grounding our work in real-life problems and engaging with urgent global challenges, so I’m really pleased to see QS highlight Essex’s positive reputation within the global academic community and amongst top employers.

“The world-class research highlighted by QS infuses the educational experience at Essex and inspires our students to engage with global issues from a research mind-set.”