The ratings will be very useful for those students, schoolchildren, Russians and foreigners who are faced with the choice of which country to study in, or those who wish to get a job abroad in research, teaching and business. The first academic ranking was published by Shanghai University in 2003, and a year later, the Times newspaper compiled its version of the best universities in the world. To date, there are various ratings - from student to specialized, national and international. The formation of the rating involves taking into account a large number of parameters that may vary slightly:
- For example, the prestigious QS World University Rankings is compiled on the basis of 6 main characteristics: teaching (the number of teachers who are Nobel Prize winners), the research part (the level of significance of ongoing research for science), prospects for graduates and employers' assessments, the number of foreign teachers and students. An important condition for a university is the availability of postgraduate programs and undergraduate studies in at least two broad subject areas. Universities in the US and the UK are considered permanent leaders in the QS ranking.
- Another respected ranking is published by the US news agency U.S.News, which is an authoritative compiler of world university rankings.
- The already mentioned Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), compiled by an Asian agency, will be especially useful for those who wish to build a career in the scientific field abroad
- The purpose of the Best Global Universities ranking is to collect all the necessary information about the research and academic reputation of universities.
The Times Higher Education magazine is known for its annual ranking of world universities. The World University Rankings 2018 includes 1000 universities from all over the world.
THE (Times Higher Education)
- the quality of teaching: the ratio of the number of staff and students, doctors and bachelors is determined
- level of research activities: what place the university occupies in advanced research and what income it receives
- degree of dissemination of knowledge and innovation: the role in dissemination of knowledge is determined through citation
- financial indicators of universities (in order to determine the effectiveness of universities and their material base)
- international perspectives: the degree of interaction with foreign institutions, the number of foreign students and teachers, participation in research programs abroad.
Best Universities 2018 According to The Times Higher Education Ranking
15 University of California, Los Angeles
20. Northwestern University
21. University of Michigan
22. National University of Singapore
23. University of Toronto
28. New York University
29. Peking University
Any employer appreciates a good education. Nowadays it is not very difficult to get into a foreign university, you just need to prepare well for admission. It is in order to choose the best suitable university that ratings are compiled.
How ratings are made
University evaluation criteria:
- Student reviews.
- The quality of scientific research.
- Entry requirements and average passing score.
- The number of students per teacher.
- The cost of the material and technical base.
- Students who have completed the course.
- Career prospects.
All data is run through many filters, and you should not refuse a suitable offer just because of a line in the rating.
100 best universities in the world
In the top 2015, the first 10 places are occupied by the UK. The ranking of world universities was compiled by an independent commission, the survey was conducted in 9 languages.
So, the hundred best universities in the world are opened by Harvard University. This is a very old educational institution, opened in the 17th century. Many US presidents have come out of its walls.
Second place goes to the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest university in existence today. It was founded in 1209.
Oxford is third. This educational institution, like the two previous ones, is very old and has a worldwide reputation.
All these educational institutions have been known for a very long time, have an impeccable reputation, and after graduating from one of the universities, you can count on one hundred percent employment.
The list includes universities in both Europe and Asia. At the last, hundredth place on the list is the University of Massachusetts. Thus, the list closes and opens the US university.
Of course, in order to choose a top university, you need not only large cash injections, but also basic knowledge and knowledge of the language of the country where the educational institution is located.
The best technical universities
Technical specialties are in demand and are popular along with the humanities. IT-specialties are especially valued.
The rating of technical universities of the world is headed by the USA. Its peculiarity is that students learn by doing, rather than cramming boring theory. Therefore, the university is a leader in intra-university research. It is worth noting that the competition for this university is unrealistically high, and to get there, you need to try very hard.
The Indian Institute of Technology is also in the top five. This is a real forge of personnel for the IT-sphere. There is no clear specialization at the institute, and students study about 40 disciplines. Foreign students are paid a scholarship as part of the exchange of cultural experience.
The top ten includes Imperial London College. Education in it is relatively inexpensive - 12 thousand pounds a year. But there will be big expenses for housing, because the college does not have a hostel. London has high property prices.
The top twenty includes the Australian University of South Wales. The principles of teaching are very similar to the University of Massachusetts.
Russia ranks 66th among the world's technical universities. This place is Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Top Medical Universities
In the first place in the top of medical universities is Oxford. As you can see, it is not only included in the ranking of universities in the world, but also the best among the teaching of medicine.
In second place is Harvard University.
Third place is occupied by Cambridge.
Fourth place went to Imperial London College.
Rounding out the top five is Stanford University, which is located in the United States.
But Russian universities were not included in the ranking of medical universities in the world.
Top world business schools
Business schools, as a rule, are part of large universities, and very rarely exist separately. After graduation, graduates become managers of different levels.
In the first place among business schools - Harvard.
The second place was given to the University of London and its business school.
Third place goes to the University of Pennsylvania.
The ranking of prestigious universities in the world, according to the U.S. news
In first place, as in almost all rankings, Harvard University.
Second place belongs to the Massachusetts Technical University.
The third place was given to the University of California at Berkeley.
The British university appears only in fifth place - the University of Oxford.
In general, almost only US universities are represented in the first twenty positions. Then you can meet the universities of Japan, Canada, China, Australia, Singapore and European countries. But most of all there are universities in America. Therefore, there are fears that the agency's experts out of patriotic feelings may slightly overestimate the educational institutions of their country.
Ranking of world universities by specialty
In addition to the overall rating, ratings of specialties are compiled. This is done so that the applicant can choose the most suitable university. Because not all universities have each department or department equally strong. A university may be in the top ten of the overall ranking, but after admission, it turns out that in a less well-known institute, it is in a certain specialty that knowledge is given deeper, more interesting than internships, and so on.
Lists are compiled in six areas:
- humanitarian;
- engineering and technical;
- biosciences;
- physics and chemistry;
- medicine;
- social direction.
Moscow State University took several positions in different areas at once: 35th place in the direction of "Linguistics", 36th - "Physics and Astronomy", in the specialty "Computer Science and Information Technology" entered the top hundred. In addition to Moscow State University, St. Petersburg University is in the top 100.
Russian universities in international rankings
In Soviet times, education in our country was considered the best in the world. During the years of perestroika and during the 90s, the level decreased slightly, but now the world has begun to grow upwards.
According to the QS agency, which analyzes all higher educational institutions in the world and makes a rating, Russian universities are in the following places:
- On the 114th place of Moscow State University. Lomonosov.
- On the 233rd - St. Petersburg State University.
- On the 322nd - MSTU. Bauman.
- On the 328th place is the Novosibirsk National Research Institute.
- From the 400th to the 500th place are Peoples' Friendship University, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, St. Petersburg Technical University, Tomsk State University.
- From 500th to 600th places - Tomsk Polytechnic University, Higher School of Economics, Kazan University, Ural University. Yeltsin, Saratov State University.
- 800th place is occupied by the Southern Federal University, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Far Eastern Federal University and Voronezh State University.
Results
When choosing a suitable educational institution, you need to focus not only on the ranking of the most prestigious universities in the world. This is a very conditional indicator, various ratings are marketing tools, and their compilation may be unknown to a simple layman. Of course, there is no reason not to trust popular agencies, but when choosing a university, it is better to focus on your interests.
Cambridge university
Opens the list of the best universities in the world Cambridge. The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209 and is the fourth oldest university in the world. The University of Cambridge is located in the UK, the city of Cambridge. The average tuition fee at this university is $20,000. About 17 thousand students study at the university, 5 thousand of which receive a second education. More than 15% of students at the University of Cambridge are foreigners.
The second place in the ranking of the best universities in the world is Harvard. Harvard University was founded in 1636 and is considered the most famous university in the United States. More than 6.7 thousand students, 15 thousand graduate students study there, and 2.1 thousand teachers work there. Graduates of this university were eight US presidents (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush, Barack Obama), as well as 49 Nobel Prize winners and 36 Pulitzer Prize winners. Tuition at Harvard University is $40,000.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. An MIT record is that 77 members of the MIT community are Nobel Prize winners. The average cost of education, including accommodation, is 55 thousand dollars. More than 4,000 students and 6,000 graduate students, as well as about a thousand teachers, study at MIT.
The fourth place among the best universities in the world is occupied by Yale University. It is one of the most prestigious private universities in the world. Tuition costs an average of 37 thousand dollars. Yale University is located in the United States, Connecticut. Students from 110 countries study at the university, and more than 11 thousand people receive education every year. Five former US presidents have studied at this university, as well as many politicians, businessmen and scientists.
Most of you have probably heard of Oxford University. Oxford is one of the most famous and oldest universities in the world. More than 20 thousand students study in it, 25% of which are foreigners. There are also over 4,000 teachers in Oxford. Studying at this university will cost you an average of 10 to 25 thousand dollars, depending on the chosen specialty. Oxford also has over 100 libraries and more than 300 different student interest groups.
Imperial College London was founded in 1907 by Prince Albert. The college is located in the heart of London. About 8 thousand employees work in it, 1400 of them are teachers. 14.5 thousand students study at the Imperial College, and the average cost of education, depending on the specialty, is 25-45 thousand dollars, the medical specialty is considered the most expensive there. This college has graduated from 14 Nobel laureates.
University College London was founded in 1826. At the moment, the college ranks third in terms of the number of foreign students studying there, and the first in terms of the number of female professors. In total, more than 22 thousand students study at the college, of which almost half receive a second higher education, and 8 thousand foreign students. The average cost of education is from 18 to 25 thousand dollars. This college has graduated from 26 Nobel laureates.
The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 with donations from John D. Rockefeller. More than 2 thousand teachers work at the university, 10 thousand graduate students and 4.6 thousand students study. The university also has a library, the construction of which was spent 81 million dollars. The average cost of education is 40-45 thousand dollars. This university includes 79 Nobel laureates.
The University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740 as a charitable school, became a college in 1755, and already in 1779 was the first college to be given the status of a university. In 1973, over 52 thousand students studied at the university. At the moment, more than 19 thousand students study at the university, and more than 3.5 thousand professors teach. The average cost of studying at the University of Pennsylvania is $40,000.
The Columbia University closes our top ranking of the best universities in the world. it is located in the city of New York, where it covers an area of 13 hectares. Columbia University was founded in 1754. Many famous people graduated from this university, including: 4 US presidents, nine judges of the Supreme Court, 97 Nobel laureates and 26 heads of other states, the list of which includes the current president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. More than 20 thousand students study at the university, half of which are girls. The average cost of education is 40-44 thousand dollars.
World's Best Universities Video
Ratings of educational institutions are carried out by special statistical agencies. Moreover, the data can vary greatly, depending on many factors that they took into account. As a result, it turns out that in the statistical top 100 of the best universities in the world, for example, one university is in fifth place, and according to another rating, the same educational institution occupies the 20th line.
Therefore, for a more objective picture, we will consider the lists of three world agencies at once: QS, THE (Times Higher Education) and U.S. News. They are distinguished by their impartiality, as well as their authority. That is, we are looking for a kind of arithmetic mean, if such a concept can be applied to the ranking of the best universities in the world.
It’s worth clarifying right away that domestic institutions, alas, were not included in this list. All universities, which will be discussed, are located in North America and the UK. Yes, we have decent universities, but according to the aforementioned agencies, they are not good enough. One of the most serious Russian educational institutions - Lomonosov Moscow State University - takes only 95th place in the list of the best universities in the world (2017) (QS statistics). So our universities are not only up to the top ten, but up to the first fifty, they are still very far away and will take a long time to grow.
So, let's try to figure out which is the best university in the world, why it is so famous, what is studied in it and where to find it. The data may change from year to year, but the top three and even the top five, as a rule, are unchanged and hold the bar for a very, very long time. Let's designate the first ten educational institutions.
TOP of the best universities in the world:
- Harvard University.
- Cambridge.
- Oxford.
- Stanford.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- University College London.
- California Institute of Technology.
- Yale university.
- Imperial College London.
And now we will analyze the most remarkable educational institutions in more detail.
Harvard University
Harvard remains the undisputed leader of the ranking, that is, the best university in the world. It was founded back in 1636 and is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The average number of students, according to the university, fluctuates within 21 thousand people.
Among the other top universities in the world, Harvard has the largest endowment fund, as well as a significant number of scholarships with far-reaching paychecks. Separately, it is worth mentioning the library at the university - it's just a storehouse for anyone who suffers from knowledge and answers to their questions.
Faculties
Today's student-to-teacher ratio is seven to one. Moreover, a good half of the lectures are given for groups of no more than 20 people, which greatly increases the chances of understanding and consolidating the material received by applicants.
The best university in the world has the following faculties:
- business school;
- humanitarian sciences;
- design;
- pedagogy;
- management and management;
- right;
- healthcare;
- dentistry;
- religion;
- applied Science;
- cutting edge research.
And this is not a complete list. There are also academic specialties and departments for training specialists of various profiles. So at Harvard you can study any science, if there is a desire (and opportunities).
Graduates
Among the famous graduates of the best university in the world are the presidents of the United States (Roosevelt, Kennedy, Bush, Obama), world leaders of other countries, members of royal families (Prince Frederick of Denmark, Sheikh Kuwait Sabah, Princess Owada of Japan, as well as businessmen Zuckerberg and Bill Gates .
University of Cambridge
Silver goes to one of the oldest educational institutions in Europe - the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1209 and is located in East Anglia (about 90 km north of London). Nearby (50 km) is the major airport Stansted.
Almost 30 thousand students from all over the world study at the university. The educational institution is distinguished by its conservatism (however, like the whole of Foggy Albion), so any applicant who gets into the walls of Cambridge becomes part of the centuries-old English traditions. This applies to clothing, matriculation ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, etc.
University faculties
When entering a university, applicants always face a serious dilemma - which college to choose. The fact is that the existing Cambridge system is strikingly different from the usual American and European counterparts.
That is, here choosing a college, which is also a faculty, you determine for yourself a lifestyle and social circle. Whichever direction you take, it has its own buildings, gyms, playgrounds, and generally separate structures that have nothing to do with other specializations.
Colleges:
- humanitarian sciences;
- biology;
- clinical medicine;
- physics;
- advanced research;
- Social sciencies.
All of them are divided into 150 faculties and departments. It is worth noting that to study at the university you need to have not only an impeccable portfolio, but a tidy sum in a bank account.
Famous Alumni
Cambridge is famous for its alumni, including such major figures as Newton, Bacon, Rutherford and Oppenheimer. Also noteworthy are major literary figures: A. A. Milne, J. B. Prisley, Cl. Art. Lewis, L. Stern and our compatriot Vladimir Nabokov.
Cambridge has given our planet the largest number of Nobel Prize winners in many fields.
Oxford University (University of Oxford)
Bronze went to another oldest university in Europe - Oxford. The educational institution was founded in 1096 and is located in Central England (100 km northwest of London). Oxford can host up to 25,000 students from all over the world.
The university is also notable for the fact that the cult film about Harry Potter was filmed on the territory of Christ Church College, and the no less legendary Alice in Wonderland was written within its walls.
List of faculties
The main direction of the university is the humanities. But since the twentieth century, the exact sciences, law, music, medicine and art have been taught at Oxford with due success. The academic year here begins in October and consists of three semesters: autumn, winter and spring. Summer, respectively, is vacation time.
There are plenty of teachers at Oxford: one lecturer can read to audiences of five or six people, which allows full use of the tutoring system. That is, the student receives from his teacher not only basic, but also specialized knowledge in an expanded volume.
Colleges:
- humanitarian sciences;
- design;
- pedagogy;
- right;
- healthcare;
- applied Science;
- cutting edge research.
Faculties, as in the case of Cambridge, are divided into colleges and function in a similar way to it.
Famous graduates
Among the famous graduates of the university, the following world figures can be distinguished: Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Lewis Carroll and John Tolkien. We must not forget our compatriots - Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, Ivan Turgenev and Korney Chukovsky.
Stanford University
Stanford is primarily famous for its research activities. From the first years of its existence (1891), the educational institution devoted itself to the search for truth and solving the most difficult problems, in parallel, of course, teaching applicants and attracting the best of them to its ranks. The complex is located in Silicon Valley, in California, North America.
In addition, Stanford has repeatedly found itself at the top of the rankings as the best medical university in the world, thanks to innovative discoveries in this field and a large number of exceptionally competent and experienced teachers.
Faculties of Stanford
Stanford was conceived not only as a purely educational institution, but also as a practical one. That is, when other universities focused on the cultural level, Stanford systematized the data of world employment exchanges month by month and provided citizens who were exclusively “useful” to society.
University specializations:
- business and management;
- medicine;
- earth science;
- humanitarian sciences;
- engineering;
- right;
- pedagogy;
- society.
The specific direction of each faculty was necessarily calculated from the current needs of the labor market, so Stanford graduates were 100% likely to be provided with a job. In fact, they were already employed only by choosing a specialization and passing the entrance exams.
About graduates
We owe Stanford the invention of the modem and the TCP/IP protocols. Together with other alumni, Vintov Serf and Brand Townsend made our Internet possible today. Presidents and statesmen studied at the university: US President Herbert Hoover, Senators Kent Conrad, Dianne Feinstein and Supreme Court Justice Sandra O'Connor.
Businessmen also distinguished themselves by their quality education: Nike director Philip Knight, developer and father of the Pay Pal payment system Peter Thiel, two founders of the venerable Google search engine Lawrence Page and Sergey Brin, as well as Yahoo founder David Filo.
Lovers of the academic lifestyle certainly have one thing in common: they all would like to have the opportunity to study at one of the famous universities. However, only elites have access to them, for which well-known publications constantly rank educational institutions to identify the best of the best. You may also be interested in our list of the 10 most prestigious universities in the world.
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10Columbia University
The famous Columbia University, which is located in New York, is one of the eight American universities that are members of the Ivy League. This is a very old and prestigious educational institution, founded in 1754 by the English king George II with the name King's College. The university is one of the 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities and is the first university in the US to offer an MD degree. 20 contemporary billionaires, 29 foreign heads of state, and 100 Nobel Prize winners have been students at Columbia University.
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9
The California Institute of Technology is a private institution located in Pasadena, California, USA. With a strong emphasis on scholarship, the university has attracted renowned scholars such as George Ellery Hale, Arthur Amos Noyes and Robert Andrews Milliken to teach. Caltech University, one of the few in the United States, is mainly focused on teaching engineering and the exact sciences. Although this is a small institution, 33 of its graduates and teachers deservedly received 34 Nobel Prizes, 5 Fields Prizes and 6 Turing Prizes.
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8
Yale University is a member of the American Ivy League. Located in Connecticut, USA. The famous Yale was founded in 1701 and is the third oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Its original purpose was to teach theology and ancient languages, but since 1777, the school's curriculum began to include the humanities and natural sciences. Five US Presidents and other famous politicians such as Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. studied at Yale University. 52 of its graduates are Nobel laureates.
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7Princeton University
Princeton University is also in the Ivy League. Located in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Princeton was founded in 1746, moved to Newark in 1747, and then moved to its current location in 1896, where it takes its present name, Princeton University. It is the alma mater of two US presidents, as well as numerous billionaires and foreign heads of state. Princeton is rightly considered one of the best universities in the world.
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6UC Berkeley
It is one of the few public schools in the US with such a prestigious reputation. It was named one of the top six university brands for 2015. The World Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked UC Berkeley 4th in the world among all universities and first among public universities. Berkeley faculty, alumni, and researchers have received 72 Nobel Prizes, 13 Fields Prizes, 22 Turing Prizes, 45 MacArthur Fellowships, 20 Oscars, 14 Pulitzer Prizes, and 105 Olympic gold medals.
