Aerial shot of Swansea with QS World University Rankings in text.

Swansea University has been named as the world’s 440th best university, according to the latest edition of the world’s leading university ranking and has achieved the largest ranking improvement in Wales this year.

The eighteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings is released by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds and names the world’s 1,300 best universities - 145 more than in 2021’s edition.

Swansea University’s growing global reputation has seen it achieve the greatest improvement in Wales by climbing 34 places on its 2021 position.

The rankings provide authoritative comparative analysis on the performance of the world’s top universities which can be found in 97 locations. A total of 6,415 institutions were nominated for evaluation, 3,775 evaluated as eligible, and 1,673 were analysed.

Ninety British universities are featured in the rankings and only 28 of these (31%) improved their position on last year with the remaining 69% holding their position or declining. Within Wales, four institutions are ranked, with Swansea and Cardiff improving their position.

According to the latest QS rankings, Swansea University is also:

  • Ranked in the top 400 for Employer Reputation (395th, up 195 places). This global survey measures which universities employers prefer to recruit their graduates from. Graduate employability and links with industry is a real strength of Swansea University now becoming recognised in this ranking.
  • Ranked 239th and 271st in the world for its international faculty and international student ratios respectively, demonstrating its drive and commitment to being a truly international institution.
  • Ranked in the top 500 for its citations (496th, up 12 places). The QS ratio measures the average number of citations obtained per faculty member and is an estimate of the impact and quality of the scientific work produced by universities.

Professor Helen Griffiths, Swansea University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: “We are delighted to see that Swansea has improved its ranking among the top universities in the world, according to this year’s QS rankings. This, with our consistently high rankings in other independent surveys and league tables for student satisfaction, employability and research excellence, confirm that Swansea University continues to gain a reputation for international excellence and world-leading research.”

View the full 2022 rankings.

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