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A university of high international standing

Aalto University shapes a sustainable future. We are a highly international community with a strong academic standing. We place 53^rd in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking list of most international universities in the world.

The university has improved markedly in rankings specific to our fields: technology, business, and art & design. Our best ranking result is in the field of art & design, where we rank 8^th globally according to QS.

Depending on how the figure is calculated, there are 17 000–22 000 universities in the world, of which approximately 1 000 are in Europe, around 70 in the Nordic countries, and 14 in Finland.

Different ranking lists use different indicators to compare universities. Most rankings evaluate research publications - their quantity and, for example, how many times they are cited. The criteria may also include external funding, an international dimension, or the university's reputation among researchers and employers. Usually, the overall score of a university is determined by combining its score on different indicators.

General rankings are comparisons which take a holistic view to evaluating universities. Aalto University has scored well in a general comparison focusing on universities less than 50 years old and listings measuring e.g. internationalisation or corporate collaboration.

Subject-specific rankings relevant É«É«À²

Some rankings are specific to a single subject or field, and these are more relevant to a university such as Aalto University which specialises in three fields. Different disciplines have different publishing practices, and comparisons which focus on a specific field enable universities to be assessed on equal terms.

Organisations that produce rankings also create special lists which take into account only one indicator or criterion, such as an international dimension, business cooperation or external financing.

Strong performance

We track our ranking in the most widely known and respected university comparisons. The tables below list Aalto's position in various field-specific rankings in technology, business and art, in certain specific rankings concerning university-industry collaboration and internatiolisation together with a ranking for young universities. These positions show the high esteem, quality and impact of our research and teaching 

Key competence areas

The cornerstones of Aalto University research are four fundamental competence areas: Digitalisation and AI, materials and natural resources, business and economics, and arts and design.  Aalto University also focuses on three integrative multidisciplinary themes: energy solutions, health and well-being, and living environments.

The rankings listed below are specific to these key areas.

More information is available on each ranking's website: