The top 10 universities in the world, as ranked in the QS World University Rankings 2015/16 have been announced! Now in it’s 12th year, the QS World University Rankings are bigger and better than ever, with changes to the methodology giving an even more accurate view of the world’s best universities.
Having first been compiled in 2004, the QS World University Rankings considers over 3,000 institutions, and ranks more than 800. The 400 top universities in the world are ranked individually, while those placed 401 and over are ranked in groups.
Here are the top 10 highest-ranked universities in the world for 2015:
1 – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
For the 4th year in a row MIT appears at the top of the QS World University Rankings, obtaining a perfect score in almost every field. MIT has long-held a reputation for academic excellence and technological innovation, leading to its 1st rank position in the world.
2 – Harvard University
Harvard University moves up to take the silver medal this year, knocking the University of Cambridge to 3rd place. Ironically based in Cambridge Massachusetts, Harvard University has an average enrolment of over 20,000 degree candidates as well as more than 360,000 alumni around the world.
3 – University of Cambridge & Stanford University
Taking joint third is the University of Cambridge and Stanford University. While the University of Cambridge may have fallen one spot to number three, it is still the highest-ranking university in the whole of the UK.
Stanford University has jumped up several spaces from seven to tie with Cambridge at number three. Both universities have excellent scores in ‘academic reputation’ and ‘employer reputation,’ with Stanford scoring slightly lower than the rest of the top 10 in the ‘international students’ indicator.
5 – California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
The California Institute of Technology is the smallest university to rank in the top 10 with less than 5,000 students on average, which in part may have helped it to achieve a perfect score in student to faculty ratio.
6 – University of Oxford
The second of the UK’s most prestigious universities to appear in the top 10, the University of Oxford was ranked number 1 in employer reputation. Even though the famous university dropped one spot to number six, it is still one of the most highly-regarded universities by employers.
7 – University College London (UCL)
University College London was ranked 7th in the top 10 universities in the world, and is the highest-ranking London-based university. UCL is London’s top multidisciplinary research university, with an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching.
8 – Imperial College London
The second London-based university to feature in the top 10 of the QS World University Rankings, Imperial College London actually scored higher than UCL in employer reputation and international students and faculty.
9 – ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
ETH Zurich is the first European university to appear in a top 10 list of universities otherwise completely dominated by the US and UK. The large university scored highly across all fields, with a slightly lower figure for their faculty student ratio.
10 – University of Chicago
The University of Chicago climbs up into the top 10 of the QS World University Rankings, rising up from number 11 to finish off this years top 10 with a final entry from the US. An impressive feat in its own right, made slightly more noteworthy considering Princeton University came in just below at number 11.
Read this year’s QS World University Rankings in full, and follow us on Twitter to find out more about how they are influencing higher education.
