Prince George, B.C. – The University of Northern British Columbia received its highest-ever scores in three of the five pillars that are used to determine the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and matched its second highest in a fourth.

“UNBC’s impressive results in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings reflect the incredible work of the University's researchers, students and staff and their collaborations with partners both locally and internationally,” says President Dr. Geoff Payne. “By harnessing the energy of these strong connections to find innovative solutions to the global challenges we face, UNBC researchers are empowering communities to adapt, grow and thrive in preparation for the changes ahead.”

UNBC’s commitment to leveraging its unique position to mobilize knowledge for local and global change is paying dividends. For example, UNBC’s Research Environment score improved for the fourth consecutive year as the University bested its previous results in the number of publications per faculty, research income to academic staff ratio and reputation. The most prominent indicator in the category looks at a university’s reputation for research excellence among its peers; the results are based on responses to the Times Higher Education’s annual Academic Reputation Survey.

In the Research Quality category, UNBC achieved its second-highest score ever. This category measures several factors such as research strength, excellence and influence along with citation impact, which is the average number of times a university’s published work is cited by scholars globally. 

UNBC saw success in other categories as well. The University reached its top all-time score in the Teaching category, which measures factors such as teaching reputation and faculty to student ratio. UNBC also saw an increase in its International Outlook category, with its score increasing for the sixth straight year to its highest point ever. This category measures international faculty and staff, the amount of research papers that include international co-authors, the percentage of international students and the percentage of students who take part in study abroad opportunities. The Industry pillar is the only one that saw a decrease.

Overall, UNBC placed in the group of universities ranked 1,001 to 1,200 of the 2,092 universities that were ranked.

The audited rankings include 18 metrics divided into five pillars: Teaching (the learning environment); Research Environment (volume, income and reputation); Research Quality (research influence); International Outlook (staff, students and research); and Industry (knowledge transfer).