According to the results of a pioneering analysis released earlier this month by U-Multirank, business studies offer students the strongest international orientation. To identify the most internationally-oriented study subjects, the team behind the multi-dimensional and user-driven global university ranking project analysed the performance of different programmes on its “international orientation of bachelor/master programmes” indicator. The indicator measures four aspects of internationalisation: whether joint or dual degree programmes are available; whether students spend a part of their studies abroad; the share of students enrolled in international degrees or exchange programmes; and the proportion of international academic staff. The ranking of study subjects was determined by the share of study programmes in a particular discipline that received an ‘A’ rating for their international orientation.
The findings revealed that more than a quarter (26.6%) of business studies programmes received an ‘A’ rating, making the discipline the most internationally-oriented among those examined. Mechanical engineering scores similarly well on international exposure (23.8%), followed by electrical engineering (20.5%) and computer science (17.1%). Fewer ‘A’ ratings were received by programmes in physics (11.2%) and medicine (8.2%), with psychology scoring the lowest share of excellent ratings (6.9%) on this indicator.
The analysis is supported by U-Multirank’s unique wealth of data, which include statistics on both incoming and outgoing student mobility. The findings show to what extent students in different disciplines might avail themselves of international opportunities and benefit from the international orientation of their institution.
U-Multirank
