The University of Essex’s status as a world leader in social science, with internationally-recognised strengths in the humanities, has been confirmed by the latest world university rankings.
Seven subjects at Essex have been ranked in the top 200 world elite in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, with top 50 rankings for Sociology and Politics and International Studies.
In Sociology, Essex has risen to 25th position from 44th last year, with Politics rising to 48th. Essex’s excellence in social sciences is reinforced by Linguistics ranking in the top 150 and Economics and Accounting and Finance ranking in the top 200.
The University’s growing reputation in the humanities is reinforced by History’s rise into the top 150 with Philosophy also in the top 200.
For the QS rankings, nearly 3,000 universities worldwide were evaluated with 678 being ranked. The rankings analysed 68 million citations and verified the provision of more than 8,000 programmes in 30 different subjects.
The Department of Government at Essex has also won recognition from Her Majesty the Queen this year with the award of a prestigious Regius Professorship in Political Science, the only one of its kind in the UK. The award recognises that the Department has been at the forefront of research and education in political science for half a century.
Professor Anthony Forster said: “Essex’s exceptional research profile means we are seen as the UK’s leading university for the social sciences and are consistently ranked amongst the best in the world. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), for example, Politics was ranked first, Sociology was ranked joint first, Economics was ranked third and Linguistics was ranked fourth nationally. Meanwhile, in the humanities we were ranked second for History and tenth for Philosophy. The last Sunday Times University Guide also ranked Essex ninth overall for research quality.
“I am delighted our outstanding performance in the QS World University Rankings once again underlines our status as a world leader in social sciences and the humanities while highlighting the excellence, scope and impact of our research.”
Dr Eamonn Carrabine, Head of the Department of Sociology, said: “We are pleased our outstanding research reputation within the Department of Sociology and the wider university has been highlighted by these rankings. Our academics are at the forefront of their fields and have published key texts on a wide range of subjects including criminology, the economy, family, religion, gender, ethnicity and class. We are committed to ensuring our research contributes to an excellent educational experience for our students.”
Find out more about our outstanding departments on our Vimeo Channel
Sociology at the University of Essex from University of Essex on Vimeo.
Politics at the University of Essex from University of Essex on Vimeo.
Economics: Professor Marco Francesconi from University of Essex on Vimeo.