Southampton placed in top 100 Best Global Universities for physics

The University of Southampton has been placed 62nd for physics in the 2020 Best Global Universities rankings published by US News & World Report.

The influential international guide, which measures academic research performance as well as global and regional reputation, ranks the University sixth in the UK and 30th in Europe for the subject area.

The 2020 Best Global Universities rankings feature 1,500 universities across 81 countries, with Southampton securing 10 subjects in the world’s top 100 to achieve a 94th place overall.

In two of the rankings’ key indicators, physics at Southampton was ranked 50th for its global research reputation and 45th for its staff’s total citations.

Professor Mark Sullivan, Head of Physics and Astronomy, said: “We're very pleased with this result. We study the fundamental nature of the Universe, from the largest scales of galaxies and the solar system, to the smallest scales of the subatomic world – and anything in between. This ranking reflects the excellent, innovative nature of this work, and is a credit to our all academic and technical staff who carry out and support our research.”

Physics is one of five subject areas within the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences to have achieved top 100 rankings in the global guide.

Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), Computer Science and Engineering (comprising Aerospace, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering) were placed 44th, 52nd, 91st and joint 95th respectively.

Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi, Dean of Faculty, Engineering and Physical Sciences, said: “I’m very pleased to see five Faculty subject areas featuring in the top 100 of Best Global Universities rankings, reflecting the excellent standard set by our Schools across research, education and enterprise and the opportunity we now have to capitalise on this success.”