Getting ready to study abroad? You probably noticed choosing the right university can be challenging. Every year, various rankings of the best universities are published. Picking a higher education institution abroad is not only about checking the list of world’s top universities. Nevertheless, rankings do help you find out how well renowned a university is. According to the most widely recognised rankings, the best universities in the world are located primarily in the USA and the UK. Let's take a look at the international rankings and their criteria.
The 3 main world university rankings
There are three major rankings of world university, published annually:
- the QS World University Rankings, which ranks 1,300 universities,
- the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which compares over 2,100 institutions,
- the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), which compares the performances of 1,000 universities.
Methodologies vary and the rankings sometimes differ significantly.
Top 15 universities in the world
The rankings are different, yet it is often the same institutions that find themselves in the top 15 of the world's best universities. And the winners are usually… American universities!
The 2022 QS World University Ranking
|
Global ranking |
University |
Country |
|
1 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
USA |
|
2 |
University of Oxford |
UK |
|
3 |
Stanford University |
USA |
|
3 bis |
University of Cambridge |
UK |
|
5 |
Harvard University |
USA |
|
6 |
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
USA |
|
7 |
Imperial College London |
UK |
|
8 |
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) |
Switzerland |
|
8 bis |
UCL (University College London) |
UK |
|
10 |
University of Chicago |
USA |
|
11 |
National University of Singapore (NUS) |
Singapore |
|
12 |
Nanyan Technological University (NTU) |
Singapore |
|
13 |
University of Pennsylvania |
USA |
|
14 |
EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) |
Switzerland |
|
14 bis |
Yale University |
USA |
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022
|
Global ranking |
University |
Country |
|
1 |
University of Oxford |
UK |
|
2 |
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
USA |
|
2 bis |
Harvard University |
USA |
|
4 |
Stanford University |
USA |
|
5 |
University of Cambridge |
UK |
|
5 bis |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
USA |
|
7 |
Princeton University |
USA |
|
8 |
University of California, Berkeley |
USA |
|
9 |
Yale University |
USA |
|
10 |
University of Chicago |
USA |
|
11 |
Columbia University |
USA |
|
12 |
Imperial College London |
UK |
|
13 |
John Hopkins University |
USA |
|
13 bis |
University of Pennsylvania |
USA |
|
15 |
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) |
Switzerland |
The 2021 Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities
|
Global ranking |
University |
Country |
|
1 |
Harvard University |
USA |
|
2 |
Stanford University |
USA |
|
3 |
University of Cambridge |
UK |
|
4 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
USA |
|
5 |
University of California, Berkeley |
USA |
|
6 |
Princeton University |
USA |
|
7 |
Oxford University |
UK |
|
8 |
Columbia University |
USA |
|
9 |
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
USA |
|
10 |
University of Chicago |
USA |
|
11 |
Yale University |
USA |
|
12 |
Cornell University |
USA |
|
13 |
Paris-Saclay University |
France |
|
14 |
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
USA |
|
15 |
University of Pennsylvania |
USA |
University ranking criteria
Can we really compare institutions from all over the world when university systems vary greatly from one country to another? International university rankings are regularly criticised for their possible lack of objectivity and comprehensiveness. To prepare for your studies abroad, know how to use these rankings wisely! What criteria are used to judge whether a university is better than another?
|
QS ranking criteria |
Times Higher Education ranking criteria |
ARWU ranking criteria |
|
Academic reputation |
Teaching: learning environment |
Quality of education |
|
Employer reputation |
Research: volume, income & reputation |
Quality of faculty |
|
Faculty/Sstudent ratio |
Citations: research influence |
Research output |
|
Citations per faculty |
Industry income: innovation and knowledge transfer |
Per capita performance |
|
International faculty ratio |
International outlook : staff, students & research |
|
|
International student ratio |
|
|
Find out more about the world’s best universities
Take a look at the full rankings:
APRIL International supports all students abroad
Whether you are going on a university exchange for a term or for more than a year, an au pair stay or an internship, we offer students personalised insurance plans to protect their health during their studies abroad.