Published today (5 December) the ranking places Newcastle University joint 15^th in Europe and joint 10^th in the UK.

The second edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability highlights the different ways in which universities are taking action to tackle the world’s greatest Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

It assesses universities against three main categories: Environmental Impact (aggregating three indicators: Environmental Education, Environmental Research and Environmental Sustainability), Social Impact (aggregating five indicators: Equality, Knowledge Exchange, Impact of Education, Employability and Outcomes, and Health and Wellbeing) and Governance (Good Governance).

The University scored highly across all three categories, with its highest-scoring areas including:

• Health and Wellbeing (2^nd in the world) – The measure assesses an institution’s commitment to improving the health and wellbeing not only of its students, but society more widely.
• Environmental Research (15^th in the world) – An assessment of the impact of the research environment at the institution in topics aligned to six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs).
• Knowledge Exchange (25^th globally) – A reflection of how institutions partner in research between developed and developing regions to share knowledge and spur educational growth and the positive impact of a university on its local community and wider society.

Professor Richard Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Global and Sustainability, Newcastle University said: “We are very proud that we continue to be recognised as a global leader in sustainable development.

“This continued leading performance across a number of global rankings highlights the passion and the work of our colleagues, students and partners to support our commitment to sustainability. Our success in the ranking also demonstrates that aligning our work with the UNSDGs is driving education, research and innovation across the University.”

The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability is the latest ranking that highlights the University’s commitment and work towards sustainable development. Released earlier in the year, the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings placed the University joint 24th in the world and 4th in the UK, reinforcing Newcastle’s position as a global leader for actions taken towards the UNSDGs.

Read how we’re working together to ensure there’s enough for everyone forever and find out more about our work around COP28  https://from.ncl.ac.uk/tag/one-planet

If you’re interested in studies related to Sustainability, browse our MScs below:

• Leadership in Climate Change and Sustainability MSc (new for 2024 entry)
• Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability MSc
• Renewable Energy, Enterprise, and Management (REEM) MSc
• Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security MSc
• International Business Management (Sustainability) MSc

For more courses related to this area of study, search our undergraduate and postgraduate course database.

Read how we’re taking action on the climate and ecological crises and find out more about our work around COP28.