The Times Higher Education's subject-specific rankings for 2024 have recently been released, revealing a strong presence of Romanian universities, with Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca leading the pack. This prestigious list, known for its comprehensive evaluation of global higher education, has highlighted the University of Bucharest and Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași as joint runners-up among Romanian institutions in terms of ranking appearances.
Unlike most Romanian universities, which featured only once in this year's rankings, Babeș-Bolyai University made an impressive nine appearances. This achievement underscores the growing international recognition of Romanian higher education. Following closely, both the University of Bucharest and Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași marked their presence with seven appearances each.
The 2024 rankings show a notable increase in the representation of Romanian universities. In total, Romanian institutions made 57 appearances, a significant jump from the 47 in the previous year. Despite this increase, it's important to note that the majority of these appearances are towards the lower end of the rankings, with only a few institutions showing marked improvements over the last edition.
This year's subject-specific rankings have expanded globally, with the inclusion of 1,904 universities, up from 1,799, as reported by Edupedu.ro. This expansion indicates a broadening scope and increased competitiveness in higher education worldwide.
In a detailed look at the rankings, Transilvania University in Brașov stands out with four appearances. Additionally, four other Romanian universities are listed three times each in these rankings. Notably, Politehnica University in Bucharest and UMF Carol Davila are featured once each, with UMF Carol Davila making its first appearance this year.
A significant shift is observed in the Education field, where the University of Bucharest has outperformed Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. The former excels in Teaching, Research Environment, and Industry Engagement, while the latter shows better scores in Research Quality and Internationalisation.
However, Romanian universities continue to be absent from the Law category. In the field of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași has made notable strides, ranking alongside Babeș-Bolyai University and the University of Bucharest.
Overall, these rankings reflect both the advancements and challenges faced by Romanian universities in the increasingly competitive landscape of global higher education.
