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Three UK universities in world top ten for nursing

King's College London has been named the third best university in the world for nursing, with two other British institutions also in the top ten.
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King's College London has been named the third best university in the world for nursing, with two other UK institutions also in the top ten

King's College moved up from sixth to third place in the QS 2017 world rankings. Picture: Alamy

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 2017 world university rankings by subject were published today and ranked the University of Manchester in fourth place, with the University of Southampton at number ten.

King's College moved up from sixth to third and now sits behind the University of Pennsylvania and John Hopkins University, both in the United States. The University of Southampton moved into the top ten after placing 14th last year.

King's College London Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery executive dean Ian Norman said: 'I am delighted that our contribution to education, research and service has been recognised by being ranked by QS as the top faculty in the UK for nursing for the second consecutive year, and among the top three faculties in the world.

'The work we do helps strengthen the nursing and midwifery professions and improve their cumulative impact on healthcare globally. Our staff and students can be proud of this mark of recognition, since this success is down to the collective efforts of our whole community.'

Improving understanding

The rankings are decided by scoring academic reputation, employer reputation and the number of citations achieved through research.

Manchester's head of division for nursing, midwifery and social work Dame Nicky Cullum was thrilled with the results, with her university moving up four places on last year.

Professor Cullum said: 'At a time when we are all going to be struggling to recruit students because of the bursaries being removed, it's important to be able to say we are a world top ten university for nursing, and that's not just for research, but teaching as well.'

She said it was great news to see three British universities in the top ten for nursing and would hopefully improve public understanding of the complexity of the profession and importance of a degree.

'Brightest and best'

'I think it's important to show prospective students who might be trying to persuade their parents that to go to university for nursing, when there are loans to pay back, is worth it. They can show the league table to their parents. And whether you nurse for six years or 60 years, having a degree is the best way to prepare for future roles.'

University of Southampton dean of health sciences Mandy Fader said: 'We are delighted that our commitment to excellence in nursing research is reflected in this latest world QS ranking. We believe that first class research is one of the key drivers to delivering care of the highest quality and ensuring that nursing continues to be a profession that attracts the brightest and the best.'

Three other British universities made the top 50 for nursing degrees: the University of Edinburgh (29th), the University of Ulster (37th) and the University of Nottingham (joint 42nd).

Top 10 ranking

2017 2016 Institution Country
1 1 University of Pennsylvania United States
2 2 Johns Hopkins University United States
3 6 King's College London (KCL) United Kingdom
4= 8 The University of Manchester United Kingdom
4= 20= University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Australia
6= 3 University of Toronto Canada
6= 11 University of Washington United States
8 10 University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) United States
9 13 The University of Sydney Australia
10 14 University of Southampton United Kingdom

Source: © QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2017


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