VU Amsterdam is ranked 8th among Dutch universities. The universities of Utrecht, Groningen and Leiden are the top three Dutch universities. Score details and university positions can be found on the ARWU-ranking website.
Four categories
The ranking divides the results into four categories: quality of education, quality of the faculties, research output and per capita performance. Subsequently, these four categories are further broken down into the following six indicators: 1) the number of alumni who have won a Nobel Prize/Fields medal (e.g. quality of education, 10%), 2) the number of scientists connected to the university who have won a Nobel Prize/Field medal and 3) the number of highly cited researchers (e.g. quality of faculty, both indicators 20%, data by Clarivate Analytics), 4) the number of publications in Nature of Science and 5) the number of articles indexed in Science Citation Index - Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index (e.g. research output, both indicators 20%), and 6) per capita performance of a university (10%).
Indicator for scientific impact
The Shanghai ARWU ranking is an indicator of the international position of VU Amsterdam regarding scientific impact. The various (international) rankings - such as Leiden ranking, Times Higher Education World university and Impact ranking, and QS ranking - classify universities within various domains: scientific impact, scientific reputation, societal impact and in some cases which policy a university pursues in relation to Sustainable Development Goals.
The ARWU ranking also ranks universities according to the scientific impact of their research. The recent positioning in the ARWU ranking demonstrates the continuation of VU's strong research quality. This ranking is therefore characterized in one aspect of the academic spectrum, the scientific impact through scientific articles and citations. It suits VU Amsterdam to see its international position in a broader context than scientific impact alone.
Diversity and sustainability
In the context of rankings, for example, the Impact ranking of Times Higher Education fits in well. This impact ranking exists since 2018 and focuses on the contribution universities make to the United Nations' sustainable development goals, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The striking thing about VU's result on this THE Impact ranking is that, in addition to a solid VU score on research output and excellence, this impact ranking highlights the distinctive VU profile regarding the university's social connection and ambitions related to diversity and sustainability. VU Amsterdam is the most sustainable university in the Netherlands.