[Utrecht University] Press release
Utrecht University has continued to move up the list of the top 50 research universities in the world, having climbed 2 places to reach position number 48 this year in the prestigious annual "Academic Ranking of World Universities." This list is compiled by the University of Shanghai.

Utrecht University has the highest ranking of all Dutch universities since the ARWU ranking began in 2003. Utrecht University is placed 12th in Europe and 48th worldwide in 2011.

› #1 in the Netherlands, #12 in Europe, #48 worldwide
› 2 places higher than last year
› Utrecht University has been ranked the best university in the Netherlands for the last 9 years
› Utrecht University scores particularly well on the citation indices and in terms of the number of publications in Nature and Science
› The ARWU (Shanghai) ranking is the leading ranking system for assessing the quality of research universities

As Bert van der Zwaan, Utrecht University Rector Magnificus commented, "The Netherlands may be a small country, but it has a strong academic position internationally. I believe it is a matter of great credit to Utrecht that we have maintained our high position in this prestigious ranking which is taken seriously by both academics and students."

Leading ranking system
Worldwide, the ARWU ranking (also known as the Shanghai ranking) is the leading system for ranking the quality of research universities. Annually, more than 1.000 universities are considered and the best 500 are listed in the ARWU ranking.

Key criteria
The key assessment criteria include the number of times that university staff published or were cited in scientific journals, such as Nature and Science, and the number of distinctions, such as Nobel Prizes and Field Medals, received by university staff and graduates. Utrecht University scores particularly well on the citation indices and in terms of the number of Nature and Science publications.

Top of the league
Harvard University in the United States continues to lead the ARWU ranking. Places 2, 3 and 4 are also held by American institutes in the form of Stanford, MIT and Berkeley. The highest-placed European university is Great Britain’s at 5.

For more information visit the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)