The Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects ranks 300 law schools based entirely on research performance
Kent Law School’s world-class research is recognised in the 2020 Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, with a world ranking among the top 150 and a national ranking among the top 11.
It’s the fourth consecutive year that the Law School has featured in the prestigious league table, which ranks institutions on the strength of their research publication output over a four-year period. Whilst Kent has retained its global position in this year’s rankings, its national position has improved – it is now one of only 11 UK law schools to be featured in the top 150 (as opposed to one of 20 UK law schools in the top 150 last year).
The Shanghai Ranking assesses over 4000 universities globally in 54 subject areas. To be included, institutions need to have a minimum number of research publications during the period of 2014-2018. Criteria for the ranking take account of the number of papers published in top journals, international collaborations, and the ratio of citations.
The Law School has a well-established, international reputation for the quality of its critical, socio-legal research. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, it was ranked eighth in the UK for research intensity. Almost all (99%) of its research was judged to be of international quality with 79% judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
Kent Law School’s excellent global reputation is further endorsed in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020 where it is ranked 51st for law. It is also among the top 200 law schools in the QS World University Rankings 2020.
As a leading UK law school, Kent is ranked 16th in The Guardian University Guide 2020, 17th in the Times Good University Guide 2020, and 22nd in the Complete University Guide 2021. And in last month’s National Student Survey (NSS) results, Kent Law School was ranked 17th out of 84 institutions teaching law in the UK, with just over 90% of final year undergraduate law students reporting overall satisfaction with their course at Kent. the Law School.