Oxford also came in third place for life sciences and seventh place for physical sciences.
The ranking is based on criteria measuring teaching, research, industry income, international outlook and citations, which are combined to provide a comparison of universities worldwide.
Professor Gavin Screaton, Head of the Medical Sciences Division, said: ‘Our extensive research partnerships and collaborations with universities, researchers and industry at home and abroad play a major part in keeping Oxford at the top of the international league tables, as well as helping us to continue to attract and support some of the best scientists and clinicians to work with us.
‘This focus on research directly translates into improved clinical treatments and teaching, helping us to provide better care and treatment for patients, create a better learning experience for students and continue to help researchers to develop their breakthroughs into successful spin-out companies.’
There are around 5,000 full-time equivalent researchers, teachers and staff across the Medical Sciences Division at Oxford, as well as 1,500 graduate and 1,500 undergraduate students.
Among the highlights for the Medical Sciences Division in the past year were the opening of the BioEscalator - a new innovation centre for high-potential, early-stage medical science companies at the Old Road Campus – the opening of a preventative healthcare clinic in London in partnership with Mayo Clinic to drive advances in medical research and patient care, and the award of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe, Director for the Target Discovery Institute within the Nuffield Department of Medicine at Oxford University and Director of Clinical Research at Francis Crick Institute, London.
The division is one of the largest biomedical research centres in Europe, carrying out a substantial number of clinical trials to develop new treatments and to improve patient care and safety. Both research and clinical trials are supported by a network of international research units in Africa and Asia, as well as close partnerships with the Oxford University Hospitals and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trusts. This enables constant improvements to the University's research and teaching, while the latest developments in medical research lead to improved patient care.
