Last year was stable for international university rankings in terms of their methodology, which had undergone significant changes the year before. However, the year-on-year comparison clearly shows that these rankings are becoming increasingly competitive. The number of institutions ranked is increasing and the quality of the rankings is improving. In 2024, Masaryk University stood up well to this growing competition.
Among the traditional rankings, MU performed best in the QS World University Rankings, where it was ranked 408th in the world in 2024 among 1,503 universities from 106 countries. MU not only managed to stay close to the top four hundred, but also ranked first among Czech universities in Sustainability (with a score of 79.1) and 161st in the world in this particular indicator. It also appeared in the TOP 300 for the International Students (223rd) and Employer Reputation (298th) indicators.
“2023 was a breakthrough year for us as we achieved a huge success by reaching 400th place in the prestigious QS ranking. I am pleased that the 408th place secured in 2024 confirms our qualities. Clearly, this was not a fluke or just a short-term deviation from significantly worse rankings in the past. In an increasingly competitive environment, we have managed to stay close to the world’s top four hundred, while significantly improving our position in terms of graduate quality, sustainability and employer reputation. I think this is also good news for our applicants,” noted Rector Martin Bareš.
Read more: QS World University Rankings: MU takes 408th place
In the second year of the regional QS Europe Rankings, MU was ranked 143rd out of 684 institutions. The ranking compares universities from 42 member countries of the Council of Europe on the basis of similar indicators as the QS World University Rankings. However, it places more emphasis on internationalisation, looking for example at the diversity of international students and student mobility. MU again achieved excellent results in the Sustainability indicator and was also ranked first in Czechia in the Papers per Faculty indicator, which measures the publication performance of the institution.
Read more: MU finished 143rd among 685 European universities
MU can also be proud of defending its position in the top five hundred universities in the Shanghai ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities), which focuses purely on the evaluation of science and excellence. Apart from Charles University, Masaryk University is the only Czech institution in the TOP 500. The prestigious ranking is based on six indicators. It monitors the quality of the institution’s publication activity, the prestigious awards received and the number of highly cited researchers. Last year, more than 2,500 institutions that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated and rankings were published for 1,000 institutions from 63 countries.
MU first appeared in ARWU in 2017 in the 601-700 place, and later massively improved its standing by about 200 places in 2022. MU’s good position is based on its performance in four indicators that assess the number of publications in Nature and Science, the number of publications indexed on Web of Science, representation on the list of highly cited researchers, and scientific output per academic staff.
Read more: MU confirms its position in TOP 500 world universities according to Shanghai ARWU
THE World University Rankings is the greatest challenge for MU. Following a significant change in 2023, its methodology now includes 18 indicators grouped into five thematic areas. However, more than one-third of the total score still depends on the results of the reputation survey. The ranking compared a record 2,092 institutions from 115 countries and Masaryk University was placed 601-800. It scored best in the areas of international outlook and industrial partnerships.
Read more: MU maintains position in THE rankings amid growing competition
Masaryk University is also actively involved in three global rankings focused on sustainable development, namely UI GreenMetric, QS Sustainability Rankings (by Quacquarelli Symonds) and THE Impact (by Times Higher Education). However, rankings on the same topic often use very different methodologies. What they all have in common is the large amount of input data provided directly by the universities being assessed in order to evaluate and compile these rankings. And not just quantitative indicators from annual reports and information systems – references to publicly available documents, internal regulations, examples of good practice, photographic documentation and other supporting evidence are also submitted for evaluation.
The most comprehensive assessment of its kind is the QS Sustainability Rankings with 52 indicators. These are aggregated into three sustainability categories: the institution’s Environmental Impact, Social Impact and Governance. MU was once again ranked first among the twelve Czech universities that took part in this comprehensive assessment. Worldwide, MU ranked 215th out of 1,744 institutions from 107 countries.
Indicators of research performance are related to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals and also include citations in binding documents issued by legislators, government institutions, non-profit organisations and think tanks. In addition to strong research performance, MU’s values expressed directly in its Strategic Plan for 2021-2028, support provided to student associations, and a wide range of public outreach and educational activities including lifelong learning have contributed to the university’s result. The results of a reputation survey of academic staff directly at Masaryk University, who comment, for example, on the institution’s adherence to ethical principles in research, education and its social role, are also included in the ranking.
MU achieved the best ranking in a global sustainability ranking in 2024 in the UI GreenMetric, in which it has participated for the longest time. It ranked 124th out of 1,477 institutions assessed, i.e. in the top 9%. The ranking looks at, for example, waste, water and energy management, campus environment and infrastructure, and transport behaviour of students and staff. The extent to which sustainable development issues are addressed in education and research is also important. A total of seven universities in the Czech Republic are participating in this evaluation.
Read more: MU first among Czech universities in global sustainability rankings
The third of the international comparative assessments focusing on sustainable development is THE Impact Rankings, where the link to the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the most apparent. Institutions subscribe to each goal in the rankings, and the indicators used directly track the university’s contribution to each SDG.
MU has been participating in THE Impact since 2021, specifically in the assessments of SDG3 (Good health and well-being), SDG4 (Quality education), SDG16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG17 (Partnerships for the goals). For the 2024 assessment, it has expanded this spectrum to include seven new goals, and will be involved in the full set of seventeen SDGs next year. Overall, MU is ranked 401-600 in the current assessment, out of a total of 1,963 institutions from 121 countries. In all the selected goals, MU scores above average in its research performance. Indicators in this area include the number of publications, FWCI, CiteScore, Paper Views, and others. More than a quarter of the ratings in each SDG are based on these bibliometric indicators. The data used to calculate the indicators are taken from the Scopus database.
MU achieved the best result in SDG16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions) where it ranked 95th globally and 2nd in Czechia, closely behind Charles University. It also excelled in the newly reported SDG11 (Sustainable cities and communities) and SDG12 (Responsible consumption and production), ranking 101-200 globally and 1st nationally (the top position in SDG11 is shared with Palacký University Olomouc). In terms of the goals to which MU has newly subscribed, it has cited, for example, the range of cultural and artistic events it organises, its commitment to preserving historic buildings and making them accessible to the public, and the services provided by its libraries, botanical gardens and the Mendel Museum. Sustainable construction and mobility, a sophisticated waste management system including environmentally friendly waste disposal, the provision of affordable housing for students, and interaction with the local government in planning the city's development are also assessed.
A detailed overview of MU’s performance in international rankings, including past results in these rankings, is available in the Power BI visual report here.