Times Higher Education (THE) will shortly be sending out invitations to selected members of the academic community to take part in their annual Global Academic Reputation Survey, which informs their World University Rankings. The survey asks respondents to name up to 15 universities that they consider to be the best in research and teaching in their discipline. Respondents are able to nominate their own universities within this list. 

We know that a number of Sussex academics have received invitations in previous years, and it seems likely that some faculty members will be contacted this year too. The emails, which will be sent during November, are a personal invitation to complete the survey, and we encourage everyone selected to take part. Please check your inboxes (including your junk mail folder) during November to see if you have been selected. Invitations will be sent from: surveys@timeshighereducationemail.com. 

About the survey 

The Global Academic Reputation Survey (THE login required – you can register using your Sussex email address) is the world’s largest invitation-only academic opinion survey. The survey asks questions about an academic’s subject-specific discipline, and asks them to name up to 15 universities that they consider to be the best in research and teaching. 

Headline results from the survey will be shared with respondents, and will contribute to the series of Times Higher Education rankings in 2026, including the Teaching and Research Environment pillars of THE World University Rankings. Global rankings such as these are highly influential, helping potential students, staff, partners, and funders to decide where to spend their time or money. 

Who is invited to take part 

THE uses contact details from openly available research papers to find academics who have published at least once in the last five years, with one or more citations. Academics who meet the criteria are then randomly selected to be invited to take part in the survey. 

Universities cannot make nominations or supply contact lists. If selected, you will hear from THE directly. 

How you can help 

Please keep an eye out for THE reputation survey invitation between now and January. Should you receive an invitation, you are encouraged to fill it out. Remember you are allowed to vote for Sussex, and we would encourage you to do so. 

Answers are confidential and independent of any institution. They will be combined with other experts’ opinions and analysed in aggregate. 

The survey, which is available in several different languages, will be open until the end of January and should take around 15 minutes to complete.