Galgotias scores higher than IISc on THE research quality metric

Galgotias University has scored higher than the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on the research quality pillar of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027.

IISc was India’s highest-ranked institution in the overall rankings, securing the joint 254th position globally. On the research quality pillar, however, it was placed 64th among 143 Indian institutions with a score of 51.5. Galgotias University scored 67 and ranked 23rd among Indian institutions on the same metric.

How the research quality metric is calculated

Research quality accounts for 30% of THE’s overall ranking and is divided into four indicators: citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence.

Citation impact carries the highest weight within the pillar at 15%, while research strength, research excellence and research influence each account for 5%.

According to THE, citation impact measures the average number of times an institution’s research is cited by scholars globally, with the data adjusted for differences between academic disciplines.

For the 2027 rankings, THE said its bibliometric data included 188.7 million citations to 19.9 million publications. The publications covered the 2021–2025 period, while citations to those publications were collected through 2026.

Research strength measures the 75th percentile of field-weighted citation impact. Research excellence considers publications that rank among the top 10% globally for field-weighted citation impact, while research influence assesses the importance of the research citing an institution’s work.

Other Indian universities score higher than IISc

Galgotias was not the highest-scoring Indian institution on the research quality pillar.

Saveetha University topped the Indian list with a score of 95.1, followed by Graphic Era University at 93.6 and Chitkara University at 87.1. Amity University, Noida, scored 76.9 and ranked 12th, while Galgotias ranked 23rd with 67.

The research quality pillar is one of five components used by THE. The other four are teaching, research environment, international outlook and industry.

THE announces methodology changes for 2028

THE has also announced changes to its methodology for the 2028 rankings, including changes to the research quality indicators and measures concerning self-citations.

The current 2027 rankings, however, use the methodology under which research quality accounts for 30% of the overall score.

The 2027 edition covers 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories.