Recently it was announced that UTS climbed to 7th in Australia – and 145th in the world – in the 2026 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings that assessed 2,191 research-intensive institutions from 115 countries and territories. In the area of research quality, UTS placed 2nd in Australia and in the top 50 universities in the world.
Rankings at Research Cafe
But what does this mean? And how can UTS researchers, staff and students leverage such rankings to advance their profiles?
To explain how global ranking systems work, Research Cafe welcomed Elvira Fonacier, Head of Performance Evaluation at UTS. Elvira manages UTS's submissions and participation in the major world university rankings: Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), THE and the Shanghai Rankings. This includes gathering and collating the required institutional data and evidence of UTS research that align with the ranking agencies' definitions.
UTS’ recent performance in international rankings is certainly something to celebrate.
We need to celebrate the wins that we have whenever and wherever we can; it is UTS pride, it is our pride.
Elvira took us through the major rankings relating to UTS’ performance in the global arena with regards to research impact, research performance and internationalisation.
In the 2026 QS World University Rankings with over 2,000 participating institutions:
- UTS ranks 96th in the world, and for the third year in a row, places UTS in the top 100
- UTS ranks 9th in Australia.
In the 2025 Shanghai Rankings with the top 1000 published rankings
- UTS ranks in the band 201-300 in the world
- UTS ranks 9th in Australia.
“We need to celebrate the wins that we have whenever and wherever we can; it is UTS pride, it is our pride,” Elvira said.
How rankings are created
Each year UTS submits institutional data to the major rankings agencies while also monitoring results internally. International rankings evaluate global institutions with a distinct focus, yet research reputation, research quality, academic capital performance and internationalisation remain common metrics across most ranking schemes.
In addition, global agencies also rank universities based on academic subjects. QS and Shanghai Rankings rank institutions on 55 narrow subjects using metrics such as reputation, H-index, and international research network; whilst THE ranks universities in 11 broader subjects.
“We can use these subject rankings to see the subject areas where UTS is ranked in the top 100 in the world,” Elvira said.
Elvira said that world university rankings are important because they provide prospective students and research collaborators with information on factors like an institution’s teaching quality, research output and future employment outcomes.
“We participate in rankings for reputational purposes. It's about our image and brand,” Elvira said, adding that rankings also serve as a useful tool for universities to evaluate their performance, attract stellar staff and students, and research funding.
Rankings talk about our past performance and what we have done well in terms of our research, our teaching, our students, our internationalisation. But these results also impact our future.
“Some rankings specifically look at graduate employability, which can be a key consideration for students as they consider their future career prospects.”
While rankings may be retrospective, Elvira said they shape the future.
“Rankings talk about our past performance and what we have done well in terms of our research, our teaching, our students, our internationalisation. But these results also impact our future,” Elvira explained.
“The research activities you do today and publications you create now will have an impact two years down the track on the major rankings.”
How to help UTS improve its rankings
Elvira explained that by publishing in or contributing to high impact journals, researchers play an important role in ensuring that UTS continues to place strongly in global rankings.
“Discover who are the best researchers in your field of research and take a look at what high impact journals they publish in,” she said.
“Then when you are publishing a paper, choose those high impact publication outlets to approach, and once published make sure you publicise your papers by going to key conferences and talking about your research. The more relevant people know about your study or your focus area, then the more your publication becomes attractive for citation.”
Databases such as the Web of Science track publications over the past decade and analyse citations from the last 11 years to compile the annual list of Highly Cited Researchers in the Essential Science Indicators. These researchers rank in the top 1% by citations for their field and publication year, reflecting exceptional influence in global research.
"Some of our researchers have consistently featured among the most highly cited over the past three years," Elvira said. "And a significant number of their publications are demonstrating outstanding impact within their disciplines."
Elvira said academics can also help improve UTS’ standing by contributing to reputational surveys from the QS World University Rankings.
“Each year, World University Rankings runs a global surveys to discover what academics think of universities around the world as well as their researchers. The survey also looks at employers and asks them what they think of our own graduates,” she explained.
Discover who are the best researchers in your field of research and take a look at what high impact journals they publish in.
By submitting quality peer contacts to be invited to participate in these kinds of surveys, UTS academics can contribute to this reputational exercise.
What’s next?
- Compare and benchmark your performance to peers using the SciVal platform.
- Access information about high impact publications using databases such as Scopus, Clarivate and Web of Science. When using Symplectic, you can also access list of journals to see their impact ratings when you log in to your account. Log in to these online systems.