NEWS

For the first time, Louisiana Tech University was ranked in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The international ranking evaluates over 1,000 universities on measures of the school’s reputation and research output.

Louisiana Tech was one of only two Louisiana universities to be recognized in the ranking in 2019. 

“The World University Rankings recognize a university’s research excellence and international reputation,” said Dr. Les Guice, president of Louisiana Tech. “We know that Tech has exceptional faculty members whose passion for learning is shown through the new programs they create, in the community and industry partnerships they build, and through the research they conduct to find innovative ways to solve problems.”

Tech faculty members use their research and connections within the industry to inspire the creation of academic programs. For example, responding to regional and industry needs has influenced the creation of programs like sustainable supply chain management and cyber engineering.

“Louisiana Tech has seen consistent growth in the impact of our research and innovation efforts,” said Dr. Dave Norris, Chief Innovation and Research Officer. “Working with industry partners to approach our nation’s identified grand challenges that focus on health, energy, and cyber security, our faculty and students are having an impact on a global scale.” 

“We’re excited for this recognition,” said Provost Dr. Terry McConathy. “Louisiana Tech offers students an unparalleled educational experience. The University has a history of and commitment to creating programs that are the first in their fields, and our studios, labs, and classrooms are places of innovation, where students work side-by-side with faculty members to achieve excellence.” 

This year, the list of the best universities in the world is led by the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge for the second year in a row. Overall, 86 countries are represented in the ranking, including Iraq, Jamaica, Nepal, Tanzania, and Kazakhstan for the first time.

In 2016, Times Higher Education World University Rankings identified Louisiana Tech University as one of 20 universities in the world and just one of nine universities in the U.S. that could “challenge the elite universities” and become globally renowned by the year 2030. A study conducted by Firetail, a strategy consulting firm in Great Britain that works with universities, research organizations and civil society groups, identified a “Class of 2030” that consisted of an emerging group of “challenger” universities that are quickly rising in the world rankings and “have an opportunity to become globally renowned in the next 10 to 20 years.” 

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 includes more than 1,250 universities. To calibrate the ranking, 13 performance indicators are grouped into five areas: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).