Methodology
Consult the complete methodology and analysis of the main results here

What are university rankings?
University rankings classify universities, allowing them to be compared by concentrating heterogeneous data on their characteristics and results in one indicator. However, although these rankings simplify complexity, they provide a straightforward classification with the advantages and disadvantages that this entails: they offer a more user-friendly assessment for those who do not have the time or the preparation to analyze the performance of a university in depth but they conceal differences between universities that could be of significance.
Given the nature of how they are constructed, transparency and rigour are inalienable principles when creating rankings. Excessive simplification is dangerous and, whenever possible, a ranking system should provide different information on the main missions of universities – teaching, and research and innovation – allowing the achievements of each institution in each area to be compared. Furthermore, as universities do not always perform equally in the various fields of knowledge, it makes sense that the rankings also allow their performance to be compared in areas of knowledge and specific qualifications.
Constructing a ranking involves a certain amount of subjectivity when selecting variables, and building and weighting indicators. In order to limit the effects of subjectivity, it is important to provide a detailed explanation of the methodology used and allow the user to express preferences for teaching or research and innovation thus creating a personalized ranking.
What does the U-Ranking project offer?
The U-Ranking project has created a set of Synthetic Indicators of the Spanish University System, taking into account the above-mentioned criteria and following the recommendations of specialized literature and experts on creating indicators.
The U-Ranking project indicators represent four major contributions making it a precise tool which, in addition to being easy to use and access, is useful for managers and experts in higher education, as well as for students and career counsellors alike:
- Classifying universities according to both the volume of results (U-Ranking Volume) and their performance (U-Ranking), while assessing the effect of university size.
- Examining the main missions of universities - teaching, and research and innovation - providing rankings for each area.
- Offering rankings for various qualifications, facilitating a very useful and user-friendly tool to choose the university in which to study.
- Allowing users to obtain a personalized ranking by responding to the questions “what to study”, “where” and “what are your preferences for education and research”.
What is the methodology of U-Ranking?
To create a ranking, it is necessary to select variables and manage, homogenize and incorporate diverse data. The complete process followed in the U-Ranking project is explained in detail in the reference document, with a summary below:
- Once the relevant variables have been selected and the sources analyzed, the indicators are standardized so that their magnitude is comparable.
- The indicators are weighted and aggregated to create level 1 synthetic indicators in four areas –Resources, Output, Quality and Internationalization - for each of the dimensions –Teaching, and Research and Innovation-.
- The areas of each dimension are weighted and aggregated to create two level 2 indicators: Teaching, and Research and Innovation.
- In the case of degree rankings, the user is asked about their preferences regarding the importance of each of these dimensions.
- The two dimensions are weighted and aggregated to obtain one level 3 synthetic indicator, or a final ranking.
What information is used to construct the ranking?
The first two editions of the U-Rankings project analyzed the 48 Spanish public universities. From the 2015 editon private universities have been included with sufficient public information available. In the 2020 edition, 22 private universities have been included. Data is provided by public statistics and information systems.
To assess universities’ activities in each of their large dimensions —teaching, and research and innovation—, the following four areas have been studied:
- Resources
- Output
- Quality
- Internationalization
Each of the four areas mentioned above has been analyzed using a series of indicators. For each area, between one and three indicators have been taken into account, depending on the availability and suitability of data, and according to the dimension that is being studied. The following table describes the indicators used, their sources, period and disaggregation.
Resources | |||
---|---|---|---|
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Faculty member with PhD per 100 students: Full-time equivalent faculty members and research staff in centers belonging to the University per 100 full-time equivalent students in studies of 1st and 2nd cycle, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and students in Doctoral degrees (all of these students registered in centers belonging to the University) | SIIU | 2012/13 - 2017/18 | Branch of knowledge |
Budget / Student: Effective income of the University by number of full-time equivalent students in studies of 1st and 2nd cycle, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and of students in Doctoral degrees (all of these students registered in centers belonging to the University) | SIIU/SABI/WEB | 2012 to 2017 | University |
Faculty member with PhD / Faculty members: Full-time equivalent faculty members with PhD in centers belonging to the University over total full-time equivalent teaching and research staff in centers belonging to the University | SIIU | 2012/13 to 2017/18 | University |
Output | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Success rate: Number of credits passed by grade students registered in an academic year over total credits evaluated within the same course (excluding transfer and recognized credits) | SIIU | 2012/13 to 2017/18 | Branch of knowledge |
Evaluation rate: Number of credits evaluated by grade students registered in an academic year over total credits registered within the same course (excluding transfer and recognized credits) | SIIU | 2012/13 to 2017/18 | Branch of knowledge |
Overall dropout rate in Bachelor’s degree studies: Total sum of Bachelor’s degree dropout rates during first, second and third year of studies | SIIU | 2009/10 to 2013/14 | Branch of knowledge |
Quality | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Percentage of postgraduate students: Full-time equivalent students registered in Master’s degrees over the total number of full-time equivalent students registered in studies of 1st and 2nd cycle, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees (all of these students registered in centers belonging to the University) | SIIU | 2012/13 to 2017/18 | Branch of knowledge |
Cut-off mark: Mark of the last general group2 student that gained admission to a degree with limited places | SIIU | 2019/20 | Bachelor’s degree |
Internationalization | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Percentage of foreign students: Non-Spanish students of 1st and 2nd cycle, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees over the total number of students of 1st and 2nd cycle, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees | SIIU | 2012/13 to 2017/2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Percentage of students in international mobility programs: Number of bachelor’s and master’s degree students who study abroad through a mobility program over total number of bachelor’s and master’s degree students | SIIU | 2014/15 to 2017/18 | Branch of knowledge |
Resources | |||
---|---|---|---|
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Competitive public resources per faculty member with PhD: Competitive public resources for undirected research projects, including both projects and complementary actions and ERDF funds, over the total number of faculty members with full-time equivalent PhD | Agencia Estatal de Investigación / SIIU | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Contracts with PhDs, research grants and technical support over total budget: Competitive resources obtained for research staff training, Juan de la Cierva, Ramón and Cajal and support technicians over total effective income | Agencia Estatal de Invetigación / SIIU / SABI / WEB | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Output | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Citable documents with ISI reference per faculty member with PhD: Documents with ISI reference published per 100 faculty members with full-time equivalent PhD | IUNE (Thomson Reuters) / SIIU | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Number of patents per 100 faculty members with PhD: Number of national patents granted to each Spanish university by the Spanish Patents and Trade Marks Office per 100 faculty members with PhD | IUNE (INVENES) / SIIU | 2013 to 2018 | University |
Doctoral theses read per 100 faculty members with PhD: Doctoral theses read per 100 faculty members with full-time equivalent PhD | SIIU | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Quality | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Mean impact factor: Mean impact factor of the publications with at least one author affiliated to the University | IUNE (Thomson Reuters) | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Percentage of publications in the first quartile:Publications corresponding to journals in the first quartile of relevance within the Thomson Reuters classification by areas, over the total number of publications belonging to that area | IUNE (Thomson Reuters) | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Citations per document: Citations received per document from the date of publication to the date of data gathering | IUNE (Thomson Reuters) | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |
Internationalization | |||
Indicator and definition | Source | Period | Disaggregation |
Horizon 2020 European research funds per faculty members with PhD: Funding received by the university from EU research funds (H2020 programme) per every 100 full-time equivalent faculty members with PhD | European Commission (H2020 Dashboard) | 2014 a 2018 | University |
Percentage of publications with international co-authorship: Publications with at least one co-author affiliated to a foreign institution over the total number of publications | IUNE (Thomson Reuters) | 2013 to 2018 | Branch of knowledge |