The Leiden rankings are administered by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
The rankings system measures the research performance of 750 major universities from around the world, looking at the impact of their scientific research publications and various aspects of research collaboration.
Western Sydney University ranked very highly for its research partnerships with industry – 2nd in Australia. It was also ranked 10th in the country for its international collaborations.
Discipline areas where WSU performed strongly include:
• Mathematics and Computer Sciences – ranked 2nd in Australia and 25th in the world.
• Life and Earth Sciences – ranked 3rd in Australia and 80th in the world.
• Social Sciences and Humanities – ranked 12th in Australia and 253rd in the world.
WSU had a total of 1570 scientific papers published between 2011 and 2014 with 10.8 per cent of those papers being among the most highly impactful of papers in their respective fields.
This places WSU 13th in Australia and 272nd in the world for its impact on research. High impact equates to a paper being highly cited by other authors, requiring a paper to be among the top 10 per cent globally.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover says the University is proud to be recognised internationally for its research excellence.
"These outstanding rankings demonstrate the depth and quality of our scientific research program, and are a testament to our researchers," says Professor Glover.
