University of Auckland holds place in global top 100

The University is ranked 87th globally out of 1,418 institutions worldwide and first in New Zealand. It remains the only New Zealand university in the top 100 and commands the country’s highest degree of international renown among academics and employers.

The University was also celebrated in the inaugural Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Certificates of Recognition. These awards recognise higher education excellence in four categories, including Recognition for Internationalisation, where Auckland was one of just four winners, and Recognition for Engagement, where it was one of 11.

QS hosted the award ceremony and announcement of the world rankings at the prestigious Delegates Dining Room of the United Nations Headquarters on 8 June (GMT), as part of the QS EduData Summit.

University of Auckland Strategic Planning Manager, Dr Jingwen Mu, is a speaker at the opening session of the conference and accepted the awards on behalf of the University.

“QS – like the University of Auckland – believes that an internationalised university offers a rich and invaluable experience. With the addition of the International Research Network indicator this year to the world rankings, QS created a score for ‘internationalisation’ – the average of international student ratio, international faculty ratio, and international research network. It celebrates a global impact and connections that we are rightly proud of,” she said.

“The Recognition for Engagement category acknowledges the huge amount of timely and accurate data collection that goes into the rankings. QS noted that some universities – including the University of Auckland – provide quality and timely data submissions, which would not be possible without a solid data ecosystem and a dedicated team.”

Head of the International Office, Ainslie Moore, said this result highlights the importance of the University’s commitment to international connectivity.

“During the uncertainty of the past two years, we have worked hard to maintain and develop our reputation internationally, which is so important in an increasingly digital world.

“With the full reopening of the border in the imminent future we are confident that we will be seeing a full cohort of students back in 2023. We have continued to foster relationships with international partners and have supported our offshore students who have been studying for University of Auckland degrees from a distance. We know they are looking forward to coming to Aotearoa New Zealand to complete their studies.”

The University’s strongest indicator, Academic Reputation, sees it ranked 65th globally based on the expert opinions of global academics. The University has also performed strongly in International Faculty and International Students, highlighting the value these students and staff provide to the University community,

While improving in a number of indicators, the University of Auckland dropped two places overall from last year. QS Senior Vice President, Bew Sowter, said that most New Zealand universities had dropped in the rankings, as had many other nations. This could be attributed in part to the rising quality of global competitors, he said.

“New Zealand should find comfort in the upwards mobility of its research impact, which, aided by a highly internationalised student and faculty base, should facilitate improvements in its performance in years to come.”

This year’s QS World University Rankings is the largest ever, with 1,418 institutions across 100 locations, from 1,300 last year. The results account for the distribution and performance of 16.4 million academic papers published between 2016 and 2020 and the 117.8 million citations received by those papers; they also account for the expert opinions of over 151,000 academic faculty and over 99,000 employers.