Published annually and the 2018 ranks on 8 June 2017, the QS World University Rankings provides an index of the world’s leading higher education institutions, based on six performance indicators. The ranking has been expanded this year to feature 959 universities (43 more than last year) in 84 countries. This year’s rankings were compiled by assessing universities on six different indicators (the full methodology can be found here). Over 75,000 academics and 40,000 employers contributed this year, while 12.3m papers and 71.5m citations were analyzed to measure the impact of the research produced by each university.
For the sixth year running, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) leads the way. In fact, the top four universities are all based in the US, with Stanford, Harvard and the California Institute of Technology all following hot on MIT’s heels.
A couple of trends are worth noting. UK universities continue to slide down the rankings, with 51 of 76 British universities falling at least one place. This includes 11 of the 16 ranked Russell Group universities, the highest-ranked of which is the University of Cambridge in fifth. With six universities in the top 100 for the first time ever, this year’s ranking makes for exciting reading if you’re from China – e.g. Tsinghua University ranked 25th, Peking University 38th.. Zhejiang University and the University of Science and Technology (ranked 30th) in Hong Kong, China are the new arrivals in the top 100. In total, China has nearly 50 universities in this year’s ranking. For Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong ranked 26th, Chinese University 36th, and Polytechnic University 49th.
The results are presented in an interactive table, which can be filtered by both location and indicator, and also by subjects, see the full results at QS’s site for details. The site also provides a wealth of related information including the universities profile, star ratings, how to prepare and apply, etc. The 5 Star Rating for some participating universities (e.g. shown above) is a measure meant to assist in deciding which university would best suit the applicant. It allows students to get a wider picture of an institution’s qualities, looking at everything from the employability of graduates, to sports facilities and community engagement. It is designed to reflect the nuanced mission of universities, and the needs of students who may be interested in things other than those to which traditional rankings are necessarily limited. The QS Stars audit evaluates an institution against over 50 different indicators, and awards universities between one and five + stars over eight wider fields, as well as an overall rating (for information here).
Credit and Source:
QS World University Rankings 2018. (2017). Top Universities. Retrieved 13 June 2017, from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2018