2016 Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments

In 2016, ShanghaiRanking published this ranking for the first time, adopting a unique methodology highlighting the performance of more than 300 universities with sport-related units. This ranking allows sport-related institutions and units to compare with similar peers other than multi-disciplinary universities in a specific subject. The top 300 universities are listed based on the measurement of publication, citation, citations per publication, top 25% journal publications, and internationally collaborated publications. The bibliometric data is collected from the Web of Science database with a time window of five years. Among the top 300 in the 2024 list, 12 universities are sports universities.

Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments

300 Institutions

World Rank	Institution	Total Score	PUB CIT CPP TOP IC
1	Deakin University Deakin University School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Department of Physical Activity and Health	100.0	98.9
2	Loughborough University Loughborough University School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences	95.7	100.0
3	University of South Carolina - Columbia University of South Carolina - Columbia Department of Exercise Science Department of Exercise Science Department of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management Department of Physical Education and Athletic Training	89.5	88.6
4	Norwegian School of Sport Sciences Norwegian School of Sport Sciences Norwegian School of Sport Sciences Norwegian School of Sport Sciences	84.4	73.0
5	The University of Queensland The University of Queensland School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences	81.0	84.4
6	Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University School of Sport and Exercise Sciences School of Sport and Exercise Sciences	78.8	61.8
7	University of Southern Denmark University of Southern Denmark Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics	78.4	68.5
8	KU Leuven KU Leuven Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences	75.4	66.9
9	Ghent University Ghent University Department of Movement and Sport Science	75.0	57.6
10	German Sport University Cologne German Sport University Cologne German Sport University Cologne German Sport University Cologne	73.0	87.1
11	Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences	72.2	79.9
12	University of Birmingham University of Birmingham School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences	71.5	65.7
13	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Kinesiology and Community Health Department of Recreation,Sport and Toursim	68.5	72.8
14	Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University School of Exercise and Health Sciences School of Exercise and Health Sciences	67.1	58.0
15	University of Copenhagen University of Copenhagen Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports Institute of Sports Medicine, Centre for Physical Activity Research (CFAS)	66.6	43.0
16	University of British Columbia University of British Columbia Allan Mcgavin Sports Medical Center Allan Mcgavin Sports Medical Center School of Health and Exercise Science School of Health and Exercise Science School of Kinesiology School of Kinesiology	64.1	64.8
17	The University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health	62.3	57.4
18	McMaster University McMaster University Department of Kinesiology Department of Kinesiology	60.4	46.9
19	University of Verona University of Verona Faculty of Exercise and Sport Science Faculty of Exercise and Sport Science Sport, Mountains, and Health Research Center	58.6	63.3
19	Victoria University Victoria University College of Sport and Exercise Science College of Sport and Exercise Science Institute for Health and Sport (IHES) Institute for Health and Sport (IHES)	58.6	54.4
21	York University York University School of Kinesiology and Health Science	58.3	54.2
22	University of Sao Paulo University of Sao Paulo School of Physical Education and Sport School of Physical Education and Sport	56.9	72.9
23	University of Porto University of Porto Faculty of Sport Faculty of Sport	55.7	60.3
24	University of Zaragoza University of Zaragoza Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences	55.6	39.0
25	Maastricht University Maastricht University Department of Human Movement Science Department of Human Movement Science	55.3	22.3
26	University of Alberta University of Alberta Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation	54.9	51.5
27	University of Groningen University of Groningen Department of Human Movement Science Department of Human Movement Science Department of Sports Medicine Department of Sports Medicine	54.6	49.6
28	University of Florida University of Florida Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology Department of Tourism,Recreation and Sport Management	50.8	49.9
29	AUT University AUT University School of Sport and Recreation School of Sport and Recreation	49.3	35.7
30	Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology	48.6	30.4

* Institutions within the same rank range are listed alphabetically.

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