MIT makes record seventh appearance at the top of the list, British heavyweights retain top 10 spots despite Brexit uncertainties
US universities continued their domination in the world of global higher education by not only taking the top honours, but also 11 of the top 20 positions in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2019.
The annual ranking, released on June 6 (Wednesday), rates the top 1000 universities in the world and is one of the most prestigious and credible ranking of higher education institutes across the globe. The 2019 ranking saw Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the number one spot for the seventh consecutive year, handing the university the record for the longest reign at the top in the ranking’s history.
The number university in the world was followed by the usual suspects from amongst its peers in the US. Stanford University took home the number two spot, while Harvard University was named the third best university in the world. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) was at the fourth position. Apart from MIT that retained its global standing at the top of the list, Stanford, Harvard and Caltech also held their ground and position on the ranking for the second consecutive year.
European Giants
Across the pond, there was some relief for the routine educational giants. Despite the still hazy air about Brexit as well as the fate of education and universities in Britain, the top higher education institutes in United Kingdom managed to make their way into the top 10 in the world. In fact, there were four of them there, further cementing both US and UK’s status as the leading seats of higher education in the world.
Oxford University was placed fifth in this year’s rankings, moving up past Cambridge University that held the fifth position in 2018 rankings. Cambridge on the other hand dropped one place to the sixth position. However, Cambridge outdid Oxford when it came to reputation among academics and employers, for both of which it ranked second in the world, only bettered by Harvard.
Besides US and UK, there was only one other country appearing in the top 10; Switzerland. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) clinched the seventh position by climbing three places in the 2019 ranking. The institute rode high on its particularly high score of 98.7 for citations per faculty member and a complete 100 of 100 for international faculty.
Imperial College London was named the eighth best in the world, followed by University of Chicago at the ninth spot. The top 10 list was rounded up by University College London, which dropped three places from its 2018 ranking of number seven.
For a complete view of the rankings, click on this link.