The international QS World University Rankings® is considered the most prestigious international university rankings along with the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It is the first compiler of international rankings to be independently audited and approved by the IREG Observatory on Academic Rankings and Excellence, which evaluates and critically examines existing international rankings. Palacký University has been included for the first time in 2016, being globally ranked within the 651–700 positions.
More than 900 universities are listed in the rankings; the Czech Republic had five representatives among the top 700 in 2016. Palacký University is number four among them.
Similarly to other university rankings, the QS World University Rankings assess performance in science and research on the basis of bibliographic databases of articles and their citations, with the latest edition covering the years 2011–2015. Concerning these two criteria, Palacký University has been a leading institution in the Czech Republic in recent years; its international position is also impressive, which has been confirmed by other important international rankings, including the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2016. The QS Rankings also assess the student-to-faculty ratio, the international student ratio, the international faculty ratio, and a global reputation survey is conducted. Academic reputation, that is, the perception of schools by the academic community and major international employers, makes up 50 percent of the overall score.
That used to be an area where Palacký University scored lower marks in the past. However, thanks to gradual improvement, UP appeared side-by-side with Charles University in Prague, Czech Technical University in Prague, Masaryk University in Brno, and the Brno University of Technology, all of whom dropped in the rankings in comparison with the previous year. In the indicators “Research citations per paper” (a standardised number of citations per one faculty member) and “International faculty ratio” (an index based on the proportion of international faculty members at the institution), UP scored best among Czech universities.
www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2016
