What are the QS rankings and why should I care?
Posted on behalf of: Development and Alumni Relations Office
Last updated: Wednesday, 4 December 2024
Regular Sussex News readers will already be familiar with QS World University Rankings – and you may already be aware of where Sussex and other universities are placed in the rankings each year. But have you ever wondered how they are assessed, why they exist and how you can have a say in them?
Quacquerelli Symonds (QS) is company that was founded in 1990 to provide information and advice to students wanting to study abroad. They began ranking universities in 2004, initially in partnership with Times Higher Education (THE) magazine and later independently.
Today, the QS rankings assess universities worldwide and are highly influential in shaping perceptions of academic institutions.
How are QS Rankings calculated?
The largest factor (30%) in the QS rankings is academic reputation. This is determined through surveys of academic professionals who rate the quality of a university’s research, teaching and scholarly influence.
Employers worldwide are also surveyed to rate universities (15%) based on how well their alumni perform in the job market.
Faculty/Student Ratio (10%) and the number of times faculty members’ work is cited by other scholars (citations per faculty) make up a further 20% of the calculation. QS also considers the diversity of the student and faculty populations and a university’s international partnerships, exchange programmes and study abroad opportunities.
How you can have your say
You can play a role in shaping next year’s rankings by taking part in one of the QS? reputation surveys.
Academic Reputation Survey: The academic reputation score is based on feedback from scholars worldwide. If you work in academia, you can register to take part by completing .
Employer Reputation Survey: Employers are asked to rate universities based on the success of their graduates in the workplace. As an employer, you can register to give your input by completing .
The Development and Alumni Relations Office sends email invitations about QS surveys to alumni we know are in relevant roles. However, we don’t have current employment information for many of you, so please do register to take part if you’re in a position to do so and would like to.