Published: 27 Feb 2019 | Last Updated: 10 Aug 2023 15:33:36

The RVC has been ranked as the world’s number one veterinary school in the prestigious QS World University Rankings 2019.

This is the first time the RVC has occupied the top spot in this particular league table, after being ranked one of the world’s top three veterinary schools within it for the past four years. It was listed as number one out of 401 institutions offering veterinary sciences.

The QS World University Rankings 2019 features 1,222 institutions from 153 locations ranked across 48 subjects, providing the most comprehensive global overview of higher education performance at discipline level.

The rankings are determined by a range of criteria, such as academic reputation, research impact and number of citations, as well as employer reputation per subject. The RVC notably gained perfect scores for its academic staff and research impact. The results were calculated based on the analysis of over 22 million papers, the responses of over 83,000 academics and feedback from over 42,000 global employers.

Established in 1791 and based in London and Hertfordshire, the RVC is the oldest veterinary school in the English-speaking world. The RVC is also the only veterinary school in the world to be fully accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), and Australian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) – which allows graduates to practice as veterinary surgeons, researchers and scientists across the world.

The RVC has world-renowned veterinary medicine and nursing degrees, which it delivers at undergraduate and postgraduate level. As well as these courses, the RVC also has a well-established biological sciences programme, which is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology. This course complements the institution’s veterinary remit and is underpinned by an intensive research portfolio – which has previously been judged as the best in England by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.

Professor Stuart Reid, Principal of the RVC, said: “We are absolutely delighted to learn that we have been ranked first internationally, particularly given the strength of the discipline both at home and abroad. The result is testament to the commitment of all of those at the Royal Veterinary College to advancing veterinary science and making a difference to the lives of animals and humans worldwide. It is a privilege to lead the RVC and humbling for us to be held in such high esteem by our peers around the globe.”

The top 50 institutions teaching veterinary medicine can be found on the QS rankings website, Topuniversities.com.

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

• Alex Cassells (alexander.cassells@plmr.co.uk)  or Ploy Radford (ploy.radford@plmr.co.uk)
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a constituent College of the University of London.
• The RVC offers undergraduate, postgraduate and CPD programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
• It is currently the only veterinary school in the world to hold full accreditation from AVMA, EAEVE, RCVS and AVBC.
• In 2017, the RVC received a Gold award from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) – the highest rating a university can receive.
• A research-led institution, the RVC maintained its position as the top veterinary institution in the Research Excellence Framework (2014), with 79% of its submission being rated as world-class or internationally excellent.
• The RVC also provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals: the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in central London, the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals (Europe's largest small animal referral centre), the Equine Referral Hospital and the Farm Animal Clinical Centre located at the Hertfordshire campus.