Essex continues to be ranked in global elite for social sciences

The University of Essex is once again ranked in the global elite for the social sciences after being ranked 48th in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020 thanks to the strength of its research and international profile.

This is the third year running Essex is ranked in the top 50 for social sciences while Essex has also moved up substantially for business and economics and now sits just outside the global top 100 in the 101^st to 125^th bracket.

Law at Essex has also maintained its position in the top 100 at 76^th in the THE World University Rankings, the highly-respected list of the world’s top universities.

This follows on from Essex being ranked 33^rd for politics and international relations, 47^th for sociology and in the top 150 for economics and econometrics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Lorna Fox O’Mahony said: “The THE World University Rankings by Subject once again show Essex’s outstanding international reputation for social sciences and law. We’re absolutely committed to delivering research which has a significant impact on people’s lives by challenging perceptions and tackling real-world problems. Our research agenda also constantly informs the transformative educational experience we deliver for our social science students.

“We’re continuing to invest in new academic staff to increase our research power in the social sciences and other strategic areas. This includes launching a new round of recruitment to drive forward our research by appointing 50 new posts at lecturer through to professorial level across four cross disciplinary themes: Environment, Sustainability and Society; Socio-genomics; Artificial Intelligence, Data, Ethics and Rights; and Brain Sciences and Engineering.

“We’re building new partnerships around the world and continue to be one of the most international universities in the world thanks to the diversity of our staff and student community. This all reinforces the strength of our innovative global research profile in which includes quantitative social science, data analytics and bio-social research.”

In September Essex was ranked once again in the top 300 overall in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020. This includes being ranked 21st for 'international outlook', reflecting our ability to attract students and research talent from around the world and our commitment to working with leading institutions across the globe.

This year Essex was also ranked in the top 250 for arts and humanities and in the top 200 for computer science in the THE World University Rankings by Subject 2020. Further rankings will be announced on 19 November.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings reviews research-intensive universities across all of their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.