Top Universities in the World 2019 – Students from the world over aspire to study at the top universities. International universities have also made provisions to cater students from around the world. More than 5 million students each year vie to join the
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With nearly 5 million students jumping on the study abroad bandwagon, universities across the world are engaged in a serious competition to attract international students to their classrooms. World university rankings, in this case, are a major focal point around which international students are increasingly basing their decisions.
The top universities in the world 2019 are ranked based on various parameters by three major ranking agencies; Times Higher Education (THE), Quacquarelli Symonds(QS) and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The various parameters on which these ranking engines. ARWU ranks the universities on academic or research performance, including alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, highly cited researchers, papers published in Nature and Science, papers indexed in major citation indices, and the per capita academic performance of an institution.
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The USA, UK and Germany are the countries with most universities in the top 200. USA tops the top universities in the world 2019 list with 48, 60 and 79 universities in the QS 2019, THE 2019 and ARWU 2018 ranking tables. United Kingdom being the close second with 29 universities in each in QS and THE ranking tables and 21in the ARWU chart. While Germany has the third highest number of universities according to the QS (12) and ARWU(14) rankings, Netherlands beats Germany in the THE ranking where it has 24 universities as opposed to 23 by Germany. China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong maintain their last years number in all the three rankings.
Countries and their number of universities within top 200, 2018 – 2019
Country | QS | THE | ARWU | ||||||
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
48 | 47 | 48 | 60 | 62 | 62 | 69 | 70 | 71 | |
7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | |
29 | 28 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 21 | 20 | 21 | |
5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 9 | |
7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | |
12 | 11 | 11 | 23 | 20 | 22 | 14 | 15 | 14 | |
9 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | |
Top universities in Denmark | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
Top universities in Spain | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 |
2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
9 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | |
Top universities in South Korea | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
Top universities in China | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
Top universities in India | 3 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Top universities in Malaysia | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
2 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | |
Top universities in Hong Kong | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | - | - | |||
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
QS Ranking Methodology
The ranking methodology for the top universities in the world 2019 are different for different ranking engines. The most well known ranking methodology, the QS 2019 ranking uses six metrics. The metrics are:
Metric | Weightage |
Academic Reputation | 40% |
Employer Reputation | 10% |
Faculty/Student Ratio | 20% |
Citations per faculty | 20% |
International Faculty Ratio | 5% |
International Student Ratio | 5% |
Top Universities in the World 2019 by QS
S.No | University | Country | QS Rank | |
2019 | 2018 | |||
1 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States | 1 | 1 |
2 | Stanford University | United States | 2 | 2 |
3 | Harvard University | United States | 3 | 3 |
4 | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | United States | 4 | 4 |
5 | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | 5 | 6 |
6 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | 6 | 5 |
7 | ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology | Switzerland | 7 | 10 |
8 | Imperial College London | United Kingdom | 8 | 8 |
9 | University of Chicago | United States | 9 | 9 |
10 | UCL (University College London) | United Kingdom | 10 | 7 |
11 | National University of Singapore (NUS) | Singapore | 11 | 15 |
12 | Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) | Singapore | 12 | 11 |
13 | Princeton University | United States | 13 | 13 |
14 | Cornell University | United States | 14 | 14 |
15 | Yale University | United States | 15 | 16 |
16 | Columbia University | United States | 16 | 18 |
17 | Tsinghua University | China | 17 | 25 |
18 | The University of Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 18 | 23 |
19 | University of Pennsylvania | United States | 19 | 19 |
20 | University of Michigan | United States | 20 | 21 |
21 | Johns Hopkins University | United States | 21 | 17 |
22 | EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne | Switzerland | 22 | 12 |
23 | The University of Tokyo | Japan | 23 | 28 |
24 | The Australian National University | Australia | 24 | 20 |
25 | The University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 25 | 26 |
26 | Duke University | United States | 26 | 21 |
27 | University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | United States | 27 | 27 |
28 | University of Toronto | Canada | 28 | 31 |
29 | The University of Manchester | United Kingdom | 29 | 34 |
30 | Peking University | China | 30 | 38 |
31 | King's College London | United Kingdom | 31 | 23 |
32 | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | United States | 32 | 33 |
33 | McGill University | Canada | 33 | 32 |
34 | Northwestern University | United States | 34 | 28 |
35 | Kyoto University | Japan | 35 | 36 |
36 | Seoul National University | South Korea | 36 | 36 |
37 | The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Hong Kong | 37 | 30 |
38 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) | United Kingdom | 38 | 35 |
39 | The University of Melbourne | Australia | 39 | 41 |
40 | KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology | South Korea | 40 | 41 |
41 | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | United States | 41 | 38 |
42 | The University of Sydney | Australia | 42 | 50 |
43 | New York University (NYU) | United States | 43 | 52 |
44 | Fudan University | China | 44 | 40 |
45 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) | Australia | 45 | 45 |
46 | Carnegie Mellon University | United States | 46 | 47 |
47 | University of British Columbia | Canada | 47 | 51 |
48 | The University of Queensland | Australia | 48 | 47 |
49 | The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Hong Kong | 49 | 46 |
50 | Université PSL | France | 50 | 355 |
Source: Top universities
Times Higher Education Ranking methodology
The Times Higher Education Ranking methodology for the top universities in the world 2019 considers five indicators teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income. Universities not teaching undergraduate courses are excluded from the ranking.
Times Higher Education Ranking methodology
Indicator | Weight |
Teaching (the learning environment) | 30% |
Research (volume, income and reputation) | 30% |
Citations (research influence) | 30% |
International outlook (staff, students, research) | 7.50% |
Industry income (knowledge transfer) | 2.50% |
Top Universities in the World 2019 by Times Higher Education (THE)
S.No | Universities | Country | 2019 | 2018 |
1 | University of Oxford | UK | 1 | 1 |
2 | University of Cambridge | UK | 2 | 2 |
3 | Stanford University | USA | 3 | 3 |
4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | USA | 4 | 5 |
5 | California Institute of Technology | USA | 5 | 3 |
6 | Harvard University | USA | 6 | 6 |
7 | Princeton University | USA | 7 | 7 |
8 | Yale University | USA | 8 | 12 |
9 | Imperial College London | UK | 9 | 8 |
10 | University of Chicago | USA | 10 | 9 |
11 | ETH Zurich | Switzerland | 11 | 10 |
12 | Johns Hopkins University | USA | 12 | 13 |
13 | University of Pennsylvania | USA | 12 | 10 |
14 | UCL | UK | 14 | 16 |
15 | University of California, Berkeley | USA | 15 | 18 |
16 | Columbia University | USA | 16 | 14 |
17 | University of California, Los Angeles | USA | 17 | 15 |
18 | Duke University | USA | 18 | 17 |
19 | Cornell University | USA | 19 | 19 |
20 | University of Michigan | USA | 20 | 21 |
21 | University of Toronto | Canada | 21 | 22 |
22 | Tsinghua University | China | 22 | 30 |
23 | National University of Singapore | Singapore | 23 | 22 |
24 | Carnegie Mellon University | USA | 24 | 24 |
25 | Northwestern University | USA | 25 | 20 |
26 | London School of Economics and Political Science | UK | 26 | 25 |
27 | New York University | USA | 27 | 27 |
28 | University of Washington | USA | 28 | 25 |
29 | University of Edinburgh | UK | 29 | 27 |
30 | University of California, San Diego | USA | 30 | 31 |
31 | Peking University | China | 31 | 27 |
32 | LMU Munich | Germany | 32 | 34 |
33 | University of Melbourne | Australia | 32 | 32 |
34 | Georgia Institute of Technology | USA | 34 | 33 |
35 | École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne | Switzerland | 35 | 38 |
36 | University of Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 36 | 40 |
37 | University of British Columbia | Canada | 37 | 34 |
38 | King’s College London | UK | 38 | 36 |
39 | University of Texas at Austin | USA | 39 | 49 |
40 | Karolinska Institute | Sweden | 40 | 38 |
41 | Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris | France | 41 | 72 |
42 | The University of Tokyo | Japan | 42 | 46 |
43 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | USA | 43 | 43 |
44 | McGill University | Canada | 44 | 42 |
45 | Technical University of Munich | Germany | 44 | 41 |
46 | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Hong Kong | 46 | 44 |
47 | Heidelberg University | Germany | 47 | 45 |
48 | KU Leuven | Belgium | 48 | 47 |
49 | Australian National University | Australia | 49 | 48 |
50 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | USA | 50 | 37 |
ARWU Ranking Parameters
Top universities in the world 2019 as ranked by the Shanghai Ranking takes similar metric as the above two but the percentage of weight allotted to each is different.
Criteria | Indicator | Code | Weight |
Quality of Education | Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals | Alumni | 10% |
Quality of Faculty | Staff of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals | Award | 20% |
Highly cited researchers in 21 broad subject categories | HiCi | 20% | |
Research Output | Papers published in Nature and Science* | N&S | 20% |
Papers indexed in Science Citation Index-expanded and Social Science Citation Index | PUB | 20% | |
Per Capita Performance | Per capita academic performance of an institution | PCP | 10% |
Total | 100% |
Source: shanghairanking.com
Top Universities in the World - ARWU Ranking 2018
S.No | University | 2018 | 2017 |
1 | Harvard University | 1 | 1 |
2 | Stanford University | 2 | 2 |
3 | University of Cambridge | 3 | 3 |
4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 4 | 4 |
5 | University of California, Berkeley | 5 | 5 |
6 | Princeton University | 6 | 6 |
7 | University of Oxford | 7 | 7 |
8 | Columbia University | 8 | 8 |
9 | California Institute of Technology | 9 | 9 |
10 | University of Chicago | 10 | 10 |
11 | University of California, Los Angeles | 11 | 12 |
12 | Cornell University | 12 | 14 |
13 | Yale University | 12 | 11 |
14 | University of Washington | 14 | 13 |
15 | University of California, San Diego | 15 | 15 |
16 | University of Pennsylvania | 16 | 17 |
17 | University College London | 17 | 16 |
18 | Johns Hopkins University | 18 | 18 |
19 | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich | 19 | 19 |
20 | Washington University in St. Louis | 20 | 20 |
21 | University of California, San Francisco | 21 | 21 |
22 | The University of Tokyo | 22 | 24 |
23 | University of Toronto | 23 | 23 |
24 | Imperial College London | 24 | 27 |
25 | Northwestern University | 25 | 22 |
26 | Duke University | 26 | 26 |
27 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 27 | 24 |
28 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | 28 | 28 |
29 | University of Copenhagen | 29 | 30 |
30 | Rockefeller University | 30 | 36 |
31 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 30 | 33 |
32 | New York University | 32 | 29 |
33 | The University of Edinburgh | 32 | 32 |
34 | The University of Manchester | 34 | 38 |
35 | Kyoto University | 35 | 35 |
36 | Sorbonne University | 36 | -- |
37 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | 37 | 34 |
38 | The University of Melbourne | 38 | 39 |
39 | University of Colorado at Boulder | 38 | 43 |
40 | The University of Texas at Austin | 40 | 51 |
41 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 41 | 37 |
42 | University of Paris-Sud (Paris 11) | 42 | 41 |
43 | University of British Columbia | 43 | 31 |
44 | Karolinska Institute | 44 | 44 |
45 | Tsinghua University | 45 | 48 |
46 | University of California, Santa Barbara | 46 | 45 |
47 | Heidelberg University | 47 | 42 |
48 | Technical University Munich | 48 | 50 |
49 | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas | 48 | 48 |
50 | Vanderbilt University | 50 | 52 |
