In March 2015, Essential Science Indicators’ (ESI) data illustrated that a total of 12 disciplines of WHU entered the ESI Top 1% including General Social Sciences.

More specifically, among the top 12 disciplines, Chemistry is the first, within 1‰. Material Science, Clinical Medicine, Engineering Science, Biology and Biochemistry are all in the first 5‰. Botany and Animal Science, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physics, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science and Ecology, Earth Sciences, and Social Sciences are all in the top 1%.

Genreal Social Sciences are involved with a wide range of disciplines, such as Economics and Business/Financial Studies, as well as a wide range of other fields of study. WHU always strives to become a number one university for Humanities and Social Sciences, so it is necessary to increase the international competitiveness and academic influence of General Social Sciences. That is why the Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences on numerous occasions cooperated with the library to hold meetings to analyze ESI discipline rankings. As a result, the measures taken have had the desired impact, raising the level of internal publications and enhanced the interactions and cooperation between WHU and world’s top universities. 

ESI is an important index to measure world first-class higher education, and also one of the major indexes to measure the core competitiveness of university, therefore whether a discipline makes it in the top 1% or not puts high significance on that department, school or university. WHU stresses the importance of constructing ESI disciplines, as well as enhancing the quality of papers, in order to encourage the top 1% disciplines in ESI to achieve new breakthrough. In this manner we can actively create and maintain international standard disciplines.

(Rewritten by Yuqian Zhang, edited by Diana & Sijia Hu )