The University of Amsterdam came out on top at the CHE ExcellenceRanking 2009 and was placed in the ‘Excellence Group' for all three disciplines assessed in this ranking. These included Economics, Psychology and Political Science. The UvA distinguished itself in all three disciplines by its vast number of publications and citations, as well as in the significant mobility of both students and lecturers in the disciplines of Economics and Psychology.

Ten universities in the Netherlands were able to qualify for an Excellence Group. The UvA and the Erasmus University of Rotterdam were the only Dutch universities who managed to attain a position in the Excellence Group in all three disciplines.

The first round on ExcellenceRanking was held in 2007, in which the natural sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics) were examined. The UvA disciplines granted a place in the Excellence Group in that year were Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy.

Assessment criteria

The higher education institutes were assessed according to different criteria: the number of publications, the number of most frequently cited researchers and the extent of international orientation. This last-mentioned criterion is determined according to the Erasmus Mundus Master's Course and the mobility of both students and lecturers.

About CHE

The Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (CHE) is an independent institution established in Gütersloh (Germany) whose goal is to support reform in higher education. The centre publishes national (in Germany) and international rankings of higher education institutes every year. This enables prospective Master's and PhD students to compare the research qualities of various institutions to facilitate their selection process.