Law at Griffith ranked in the global top 50

Griffith Law School Dean, Professor Pene Mathew

Law at Griffith has gained significant recognition in the latestShanghaiRankings’ Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2017.

Law (which includes criminology in this ranking) came in at number 38 after the ARWU evaluated 4000 universities in 52 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.

Griffith Law School Dean Professor Pene Mathew said it was a fantastic result.

“This ranking places Law at Griffith first in Queensland, recognising the high quality of both our researchers and students,’’ she said.

“The ARWU takes into account a range of indicators of quality research, including publications in quality journals and number of citations, thus demonstrating the high quality of legal research at Griffith University.”

Associate Professor Michael Townsley, Head of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, said Criminology at Griffith has long been recognised as one of the best nationally, but the ARWU ranking indicates their strength is recognised internationally.
“The Griffith criminology community has an established international reputation for conducting research on important social problems. Our work has impacted the academic discipline and society in numerous ways, which is reflected in our ranking.”

Research scholarship

Professor Don Anton, Director of the Law Futures Centre at Griffith, said the result reflected the outstanding research produced by legal scholars at the Griffith Law School.

“We are aiming to demonstrate our research is ERA 5 quality – above world-class – and this ranking helps to confirm we are succeeding.”

The University also ranked 101-150 for Social Science, seventh in Australia.

“We are especially pleased with the strong endorsement of our strengths in social science as we have invested strongly in this area across the past decade,” said Professor Paul Mazerolle, Pro Vice Chancellor (Arts, Education & Law).

“This area’s strength positions Griffith to confront many of the social problems and challenges we face as a society.”

Griffith had four disciplinesin the top 50 list: Hospitality & TourismManagement ranked 2nd, Nursing ranked 14th, Marine/Ocean Engineering ranked 28th.

The university ranked ninth in Australia for the number of subjects mentioned (30) andhad eight subjects featured in the Top 100.