20 Subjects at the University of Bristol are now in the world top 100, study finds

By Louie Bell, News Investigations Editor

A new study from an international league table has ranked many of the University of Bristol’s teaching subjects as world-class, with 5 subjects in the world top 50.

The study from Shanghai Ranking’s Global Rankings of Academic Subjects (GRAS) places Bristol as 64th globally, with 20 subjects in the world top 100.

Subjects in the top 100 include Water Resources (10th), Public Health (8th) and Earth Sciences at 20th, though this fell 4 ranks since 2019.

A subject on the rise globally is Aerospace Engineering, which sat at 46th in 2018, yet rose to 27th in the most recent study.

Operating since 2009, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) analyses a total of over 4000 institutions and uses indicators based on the number of Nobel Prizes and field medals received by alumni, the number of highly-cited researchers, and the proportion of papers published in leading scientific journals.

In total, the UK contains eight of the world’s top 100 institutions, with Bristol’s position remaining around the mid-60s since the ARWU's conception.

University of Bristol rises two places in Complete University Guide 2021

In 2019, Bristol rose 10 points from its lowest ARWU ranking of 74th in 2018.

The overall University rank naturally varies according to the study conducted, with the QS world University rankings pointing to a clear decline in Bristol’s world rankings since 2012.

Featured image: Epigram / Cameron Scheijde

What do you think of the recent trends in Bristol's league table performance? Let us know!