Click here to read an updated version of this article, based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018.

Are you thinking of studying computer science in the United States? The country has a strong presence in the computer science ranking in the latest edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, boasting an impressive 90 entries out of the 500 featured. Read on for an overview of the top 10 universities in the US for computer science, plus other high-ranking US institutions in this field.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Frequently found at the top of the subject rankings tables, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is ranked 1^st for computer science and has also been the world’s leading university in the overall QS World University Rankings® for five consecutive years. MIT’s computer science department, combined with electrical engineering, is the largest department at the institution. The university is well-known for its innovative research in this area, with its computer science faculty and researchers having made fundamental contributions to cybernetics, artificial intelligence, computer languages, machine learning, robotics, and cryptography.

2. Stanford University

Ranked 2^nd both for computer science and in the overall World University Rankings this year, Stanford University’s setting near the famous Silicon  Valley in California makes it unique amongst these top universities in the US, with many of the world’s largest high-tech corporations right on its doorstep. Stanford’s computer science department was founded in 1965 and is part of the university’s School of Engineering.

3. Harvard University

Harvard University is ranked 4^th in the world in the latest computer science ranking. Its computer science department is part of the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (founded in 1847, with computer science courses available from 1984). Famous technology magnates to have studied at Harvard include Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg (both of whom famously ‘dropped out’ to pursue their careers in tech).

4. Carnegie Mellon University

The next of the top universities in the US for computer science is Carnegie Mellon University, based in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Within the QS World University Rankings by Subject, Carnegie Mellon University achieves its strongest score in the field of computer science, ranked 5^th in the world in this field. Its School of Computer Science is based at the Gates and Hillman Centers, a US$98 million complex which opened in 2009 and has achieved LEED Gold certification for its high levels of sustainability.

5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

The University of California, Berkeley is ranked 7^th in the world for computer science this year, and like MIT combines its computer science school with electrical engineering. The Turing Award, known as the ‘Nobel Prize in computing’ has been awarded to 11 alumni and 10 past and present faculty members of Berkeley, including Douglas Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse.

6. Princeton University

Ranked 10^th in the world for computer science, Princeton University’s computer science department is part of the university’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, in which 1,900 students are enrolled. Its alumni include ‘father of computer science’ Alan Turing, computer scientists Alonzo Church and John von Neumann, and Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

7. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is ranked 16^th in the world for computer science this year. Its computer science faculty is part of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, which is credited as being ‘the birthplace of the internet’, as the first transmission of what would become the internet was sent from the university’s Boelter Hall in 1969.

8. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

The next of the top universities in the US for computer science is Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), up 14 places this year to rank 25^th for computer science. Its College of Computing has about 4,570 students enrolled on 18 degree programs and is located at the Klaus Advanced Computing Building (KACB), a LEED Gold certified building with six research centers and 70 research laboratories.

9. Cornell University

Heading to the state of New York, Cornell University is currently ranked joint 26^th in the world for computer science, sharing this spot with Canada’s University of Waterloo. Its department of computer science was established in 1965, making it one of the oldest of its kind in the country. Based in Ithaca, the university runs a technology-focused graduate campus in New York City, known as Cornell Tech.

=10. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Sharing 28^th place in the world for computer science this year, California Institute of Technology is known as one of the US’s top tech schools, with a noted alumni of scientific researchers, astronauts and business founders, including Sabeer Bhatia (founder of Hotmail). Like the university itself, the Computing and Mathematical Sciences Faculty is small, with only 20 faculty members and 150 students.

=10. University of Washington

Joining Caltech at joint 28^th in the world for computer science, the University of Washington’s college of computer science and engineering was established as an inter-college graduate program in 1967. Undergraduates often participate in research, with 33 students at the university winning the Computing Research Association Undergraduate Research Award over a decade, more than any other program in the nation.

Other top universities in the US for computer science

Many more top universities in the US are included in the computer science ranking, including the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (30^th), Columbia University (joint 31^st) and the University of Texas at Austin (34^th). Six more US universities feature in the global top 50 for computer science, and eight more in the top 100. View the full computer science ranking here.

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The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2016-2017 by subject, launched today, includes two new rankings dedicated to computer science and business and economics. This brings the total number of subjects covered to eight, with the new additions joining existing rankings of the top 100 universities for arts and humanities; clinical, pre-clinical and health; engineering and technology; life sciences; physical sciences; and social sciences.

As this list illustrates, some of the subject areas covered are relatively specialized, while others are very broad. This means that while some tables can be compared with the QS World University Rankings by Subject, others are more comparable to the QS World University Rankings by Faculty*.

Below is an overview of how this year’s Times Higher Education Subject Rankings compare with the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject, or by Faculty. For a comparison of the overall QS and Times Higher Education World University Rankings overall, click here.

Computer science

A new addition to the Times Higher Education Subject Rankings this year, computer science is also covered in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. THE lists the top 100 universities in this field, and QS the top 500. The Times Higher Education lists sees ETH Zurich take the top spot, while fellow Swiss institution EPFL is also in the top 10. Georgia Tech, Imperial College London and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), all in THE’s top 10, are all within the QS top 25 with the exception of TUM (36^th), in accord with a wider tendency for the Times Higher Education rankings to result in higher positions for German institutions.

Business & economics

Business and economics is another new addition to the Times Higher Education Subject Rankings this year, with the top 100 universities ranked. The QS World University Rankings by Subject breaks down these two fields into two separate rankings – one profiling the top 200 universities for business and management, and one listing the top 300 for economics and econometrics. Both are shown in the table below, with the Times Higher Education top 10 generally corresponding more closely to QS’s economics table. Surprisingly, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), which features prominently in the QS tables, is not included anywhere within THE's top 100 for this subject area.

Engineering & technology

While the QS World University Rankings by Subject features specialized rankings for five distinct fields of engineering, here it is more relevant to compare the Times Higher Education ranking with the more general QS World University Rankings by Faculty. THE again lists the top 100 universities in this field, while QS’s engineering and technology ranking extends to 400. The comparison reflects general tendencies in which Caltech typically performs better in the Times Higher Education rankings, while Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University comes out higher in the QS rankings. In general, however, the two lists present a very similar picture of the global top 10 in this field.

Social sciences

This broad field is again covered in the QS World University Rankings by Faculty, while the QS World University Rankings by Subject features tables dedicated to specific strands of social sciences – including anthropology, sociology, law and development studies, amongst others. The broader-reaching social sciences and management table from the QS World University Rankings by Faculty is shown below alongside the Times Higher Education results. Again, the specialized London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) – second in the QS list – is not featured in THE's top 10, though this time it is only five places outside.

Clinical, pre-clinical & health

Several tables featured in the QS World University Rankings by Subject could be compared with the Times Higher Education ranking for ‘clinical, pre-clinical and health’. The QS ranking for medicine is shown below, and there is a high level of correspondence between the two sets of top 10 universities in this field. QS’s rankings for nursing, dentistry and pharmacy may also be of interest to students and academics in this area.

Physical sciences

The Times Higher Education physical sciences top 10 is shown alongside QS’s natural sciences ranking, part of the QS World University Rankings by Faculty. More specialized tables are available in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, covering mathematics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, materials sciences and several more natural science specializations. In general, the QS rankings tend to feature leading Asian universities more prominently, and this trend can be seen here, with the leading universities of Singapore and Japan both featuring in the QS top 10, while not appearing until 18^th and 35^th respectively in the Times Higher Education list.

Arts & humanities

Again, the Times Higher Education ranking for arts and humanities is best compared with the same table from the latest QS World University Rankings by Faculty. More specialized rankings are available in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, including tables dedicated to art and design, English language and literature, history and performing arts, amongst others. Interesting, UCL comes out much higher in Times Higher Education’s ranking for this subject area, while generally much higher-placed in QS’s overall world rankings. Likewise, MIT is higher-placed in THE’s arts and humanities list, though it ranks higher in QS’s overall table.

Life sciences

The eighth field covered by the Times Higher Education Subject Rankings is life sciences, which can be compared to the life sciences and medicine ranking in the latest QS World University Rankings by Faculty. Other relevant rankings include QS’s dedicated tables for biological sciences, agriculture and forestry, and veterinary science. These two rankings start off in complete synergy, though the correlation does not hold for long.

*The 2015-2016 results for the QS World University Rankings by Faculty are shown here, as the 2016-2017 edition has not yet been released.

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This article is based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016. Click here to view the latest version of this article, based on the 2017 results.

Want to study business and management in the United States? The country has no shortage of top business schools to choose from, with 43 US entries in QS’s latest ranking of the world’s top 200 universities for business and management. Read on for an overview of the top 10 business schools in the US.

1. Harvard University

Harvard University overtook the UK’s London Business School to feature at 1^st in the business and management ranking this year, and is ranked 3^rd in the world overall in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017. Harvard Business School (HBS), founded in 1908, owns Harvard Business Publishing, which publishes the famous Harvard Business Review magazine. It has an enrolment of just over 2,000 students on MBA and doctoral programs.

2. Stanford University

Ranked 4^th in the world for business and management, Stanford University has one of the most selective business schools in the US, with only around a 7% acceptance rate. Renowned for producing a remarkable number of successful business leaders and entrepreneurs from its alumni, Stanford is located at the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, home to a range of famous high-tech corporations and start-ups.

3. University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is ranked 5^th worldwide for business and management. Its business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is the oldest of its kind in the US, established in 1881 through a donation from industrialist Joseph Wharton. It has around 5,000 students and 94,000 alumni worldwide, including the CEOs of companies such as Google and Apple.

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – which tops the overall QS World University Rankings – comes 6^th in the business and management ranking. Its Sloan School of Management has an enrolment of approximately 1,600 students and follows the university motto “mens et manus”, or mind and hand, which emphasizes the need to find practical solutions to real-life problems.

5. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)

The next of the top US universities for business and management is the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), which ranks 12^th in the world for business and management. Its Haas School of Business, named after former Levi Strauss & Co. president and chairman Walter A. Haas, is the second-oldest business school in the US (founded in 1898) and educates about 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students.

6. Yale University

Yale University’s Yale School of Management climbed 10 places in 2016 to rank 16^th among the world’s top business schools. It was founded in 1976 and has only around 668 students enrolled. From the 2017-2018 academic year, the school will offer a new one-year master of management studies in systemic risk, the first of its kind in the world.

7. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Back to California, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)’s Anderson School of Management also improved its position this year, climbing five places to rank 17^th for business and management. The school bases its ethics on looking to the future to ‘share success, think fearlessly and drive change’. Established in 1935, it has around 37,000 alumni worldwide.

=8. New York University (NYU)

Ranked joint 19^th in the world for business and management, New York University’s Stern School of Business is one of the oldest and most prestigious business schools in the US. Founded in 1900 as the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, it changed its name in honor of alumnus and benefactor Leonard N. Stern in 1988, and is located on the university’s Greenwich Village campus in New York City.

=8. University of Chicago

Sharing 19^th place with NYU among the world’s top business schools, the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was the first US business school to offer an executive MBA program (in 1943) as well as the first to offer a PhD in business (1920). Seven of Booth’s faculty members are Nobel Laureates and the school has around 49,000 alumni across the world.

=10. Columbia University

Ranked joint 22^nd in the world for business and management, Columbia University is another New York City-based institution, located in Manhattan and therefore the heart of the US’s global business hub. Founded in 1916, it celebrates its centenary this year with a range of events, and prides itself on being ‘at the very center of business’.  

=10. Northwestern University

The final of these top US universities for business is Northwestern University, which shares 22^nd place in the world for this subject. Its Kellogg School of Management was established in 1908 under a different title, gaining its current name in 1979 in honor of John L. Kellogg (the son of the founder of the Kellogg’s cereal company) for his donation to the school.

Other top US universities for business

If you’re looking to study a business and management degree in the US, your options don’t end here – there are many more top US universities in this field. The University of Michigan, Duke University, Cornell University and University of Texas at Austin all feature in the global top 50 for business and management, while 13 more US institutions feature in the top 100. You can view the full business and management ranking here.  

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Stanford University is at the top of the new Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings, released today. According to an article published on the Wall Street Journal website, Stanford’s success is due to its “deep pockets, intellectually engaged students and solid student outcomes”. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Colombia University complete the top three, and few are likely to be surprised by any entries in the top 10, which is entirely composed of private institutions.

Indeed, the top 10 of this new US college ranking is almost identical in composition (though not in order) to the latest Best National Universities ranking from US News and World Report, and also to the top 10 US entries in the QS World University Rankings®. Exceptions include the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, neither of which makes the WSJ/THE top 10.

How is the WSJ/THE College Rankings compiled?

The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings is based on 15 performance metrics, grouped into four categories: resources, outcomes, engagement and environment. Over 1,000 institutions are featured, though the full results can only be accessed by subscribing to the Wall Street Journal.

1. Resources (30% of overall score)

This category assesses spending on teaching per student (11%), ratio of students to faculty members (11%), and the number of published research papers per faculty member (8%).

2. Engagement (20%)

Engagement scores are mainly based on a survey of US college and university students. Responses to this survey are converted into scores for the quality of learning (7%), interaction with others (4%), and whether students would recommend the institution (6%). The number of different subjects taught is also considered (3%).

3. Outcomes (40%)

This section draws on graduation rates (11%), final salary (12%), ability to repay student debt (7%) and the academic reputation of the college (10%).

4. Environment (10%)

The environment on campus is assessed by considering the proportion of international students (2%), racial and ethnic diversity (3%), students from lower-income families (2%) and diversity of faculty members (3%).

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This article is based on the results of the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016. Click here to view the 2018 version of this article.

If you’re thinking of studying engineering in the United States, you might be wondering which top engineering schools are the best-regarded in your preferred branch of engineering. The QS World University Rankings by Subject currently covers five different types of engineering, with top universities in the US making a strong appearance in each.

Read on for a quick look at the US’s top engineering schools in each field…

Chemical engineering

US universities make up around a quarter (53) of the 200 universities featured in the latest chemical engineering ranking. Of these 53 US entries, 17 are ranked within the top 50 worldwide for chemical engineering. Of the top 10 below, Georgia Institute of Technology made the biggest improvement from the previous year’s position, climbing from joint 29^th to 21^st.

 The top engineering schools in the US for chemical engineering are:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. Stanford University
3. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
5. University of Wisconsin-Madison
6. Princeton University
7. University of Minnesota
8. University of Texas at Austin
9. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
10.  Yale University

Discover more of the world’s top universities for chemical engineering.

Civil & structural engineering

There are 37 top universities in the US featured in the civil engineering ranking, with MIT again the overall world leader. Several US universities improved their position for this subject in the latest ranking, including Stanford University (8^th to joint 5^th) and the University of Michigan (42^nd to joint 34^th), while Texas claims two universities in the US top 10:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
3. Stanford University
4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
5. University of Texas at Austin
6. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
7. Purdue University
8. University of Michigan
9. Texas A&M University
10.  University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

See the full ranking of top civil engineering schools.

Electrical engineering

The US boasts 57 representatives out of 300 in the electrical engineering ranking, with the top three below also the top three in the world. UCLA gets its strongest rank for an engineering subject in this field, having climbed from 12^th to 5^th in the world for electrical engineering this year.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. Stanford University
3. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
4. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
5. Harvard University
6. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
7. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
8. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
9. University of Michigan
10.  Princeton University

Get the full list of the world’s top electrical engineering schools.

Mechanical, aeronautical & manufacturing engineering

The latest mechanical, aeronautical and manufacturing engineering ranking sees 61 top universities in the US feature among the world’s top 300 schools for this subject area, again led by MIT (which has also been also been ranked 1^st in the overall  QS World University Rankings® five times in a row). The University of Michigan gets its highest score for an engineering subject in this field, at 6^th in the world.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2. Stanford University
3. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
4. University of Michigan
5. Harvard University
6. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
7. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
8. Purdue University
9. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Explore more of the world’s top mechanical engineering schools.

Mineral & mining engineering

Of the 100 mining engineering schools featured in this ranking – published for the first time in 2016 – almost a quarter (24) are in the US. The mineral and mining engineering ranking sees Colorado School of Mines beat MIT as the world’s leading institution for this branch of engineering. Colorado School of Mines specializes in engineering and applied science, “with special expertise in the development and stewardship of the Earth’s natural resources”.

1. Colorado School of Mines
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
3. Stanford University
4. University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
5. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
6. University of Texas at Austin
7. Texas A&M University
8. Pennsylvania State University
9. University of Wisconsin-Madison
10.  Columbia University

Find out more about this new ranking of the world’s top mining engineering schools.

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Sponsored by the University of Warwick              

Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing industries. As countries continue to enjoy greater life expectancies than ever before, there is a constantly increasing need for experts in operational management, to come in and find ways to deliver more efficient and affordable care to a greater number of patients.

Leaps in digital technology are already affecting healthcare and opening new doors for tech-savvy students with an interest in business and financial operations to come in and find solutions.

If you’re motivated by the prospect of making a vital contribution to society and gaining access to a greater earning potential, good news: the lucrative and often very gratifying field of healthcare management is growing and needs YOU. Read on to discover the top seven rewards of careers in healthcare operational management (HOM).

1. It’s a healthy industry and a booming sector worldwide.

Data gathered from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) forecasts careers in medical and health service management to grow by another 23% until 2022. That’s a considerably higher growth rate than most professions. Careers in healthcare could grant you access to more opportunities, a greater earning potential and the chance to move up the food chain faster.

2. You’re likely to be happier.

According to an anonymous survey conducted in 2013 by PayScale, 44% of the 25 highest-paid professions who would describe their work as ‘meaningful’ and ‘contributing to society’ were working in the healthcare sector. It seems that if you believe your high-earning job to be beneficial to the community, you’re also more likely to be happy. According to PayScale, in fact, those pursuing careers in healthcare management rate their satisfaction levels the maximum five stars – as well as reporting great benefits such as dental, medical and vision insurance.

3. New digital trends are transforming the health service.

Digital technology is already reshaping medical services and care to make it more universal, affordable and effective. From storing medical records in the cloud to making mental health services readily accessible round the clock, there are many ways digital trends will transform healthcare. What this means for you is more room for growth and an incredibly exciting working environment.

4. HOM enables advancement in many types of organizations.

Studying healthcare management at university would qualify you for a variety of managerial and/or organizational healthcare jobs. You would be leading service transformation, implementation of innovative programs, new services and overseeing policy to improve the delivery of care at hospitals, nursing homes, GPs, and other health organizations.

5. The field is always in need of new HOM experts.

Healthcare providers are always looking for experts in operational management to improve processes, raise quality and reduce costs – essentially to help health professionals deliver better, faster care at affordable prices. There is a constant need for innovation, expertise and change. Qualifications such as the University of Warwick’s new MSc in Healthcare Operational Management cover key topics such as quality health economics, resource management, electronic healthcare records and health informatics – giving you the knowledge required to integrate teams, systems and technologies, cut inefficiencies and optimize delivery.

6. HOM experts can work anywhere in the world.

As the largest employer in most countries, the healthcare sector requires innovative managers across the world. Warwick’s course in Healthcare Operational Management will equip you with the skills and knowledge to assess organizational performance, to drive the implementation of innovation, and to manage the integration of people, systems, and technologies to deliver consistent high quality, person-centric care. This skill set is needed the world over, to help healthcare organizations improve the provision of care and cater for increasing numbers of patients.

Start your career in healthcare operational management at the University of Warwick

The University of Warwick’s one-year MSc in Healthcare Operational Management prepares students to work in managerial or organizational leadership roles in healthcare, in the UK and across the world. Starting with eight taught modules covering various aspects of operational management, ranging from quality and productivity in health service systems to leadership in healthcare, the MSc concludes with independent research and a final dissertation. Studying alongside a tightknit group of up to 30 classmates, you will receive ongoing support from experts in Warwick’s Institute of Digital Healthcare in the WMG Department, where you will build a diverse network of professional contacts. Currently, as many as 60 different nationalities are represented in WMG, which provides links with executives and alumni working in leadership roles in a wide range of sectors across the world.

Request a prospectus here!

This year’s QS World University Rankings® and Times Higher Education World University Rankings share many similarities, with a high level of correlation between the two lists (0.80 overall, and 0.71 in the top 100). However, the different methodologies also lead to significant divergences, both in the positions accorded to individual institutions, and broader regional trends.

Scroll down for an overview of the top-performing universities in each region according to the QS World University Rankings, alongside the same institutions’ positions in the latest Times Higher Education list.

United States

The US dominates the top of both tables, but – though US institutions have improved their standing in the latest QS ranking – the nation retains an even stronger presence in the Times Higher Education list. Although no longer led by a US institution – with Oxford ending Caltech’s five-year reign – THE’s top 100 features 41 US universities, compared to QS’s 32. In addition to those shown above, Times Higher Education’s top 10 US entries also include the University of California, Berkeley (=10^th) and University of California, Los Angeles (14^th), which come 28^th and 31^st respectively in QS.

United Kingdom

While US universities tend to do slightly better in the Times Higher Education ranking, the reverse is true of the UK. However, despite Oxford’s success in becoming the first UK institution to top the Times Higher Education list, overall both rankings have seen downwards movement for UK universities this year. There are now only 12 UK representatives in THE’s top 100, down from 16 last year, and UK institutions are down by an average of nine places. Although there are still 18 UK entries in the QS top 100, most either lost ground or stayed static this year.

Canada

Canada’s representation in the two rankings is, overall, fairly balanced, though there are notable differences in the order in which Canada’s top universities are listed. Times Higher Education gives the lead to the University of Toronto, followed by the University of British Colombia, while in the QS ranking, McGill University comes out ahead. The Times Higher Education ranking features several more Canadian entries within its top 400 – 17, compared to QS’s 15. 

Continental Europe

In general, continental Europe tends to be better represented in the Times Higher Education ranking, where Germany and the Netherlands are the third and fourth most-represented countries in the top 100. However, both the QS and THE rankings have seen a broadly downwards trend for European institutions this year. In addition to those shown above, the Times Higher Education list also accords high rankings to Sweden’s Karolinska Institute (28^th), Belgium’s KU Leuven (40^th), the Netherlands’ Wageningen University (65^th) and Germany’s Humboldt University of Berlin (=57^th), amongst others.

Asia

While European universities have broadly declined in both rankings this year, the reverse is true in Asia. The QS ranking has previously tended to feature Asian universities more prominently, and this remains the case, though the region is increasingly gaining ground in the Times Higher Education ranking as well. For instance, the top nine Chinese universities have all improved their positions in this year’s THE ranking, while the leading Asian institution – the National University of Singapore – has reached its highest position yet, 24^th, albeit still 12 places below its QS rank.

Australia

The QS and Times Higher Education rankings feature the same set of six Australian universities within their respective top 100s, though not in the same order. The QS list also features the University of Western Australia just two places outside of the top 100, and in general Australian universities tend to fare slightly better under the QS methodology.

New Zealand

Here there’s a clear trend; New Zealand’s universities tend to come out with much stronger positions in the QS ranking, where all eight appear within the global top 450. While the country’s leading institution, the University of Auckland, is well-established within the QS top 100, it remains 65 places outside in the Times Higher Education list, despite having gained seven positions this year.

Latin America

Universities in Latin America have a much stronger presence in the QS rankings, partly due to the fact that many seem to have opted out of providing the data required for inclusion in the Times Higher Education ranking. As shown above, this means many leading Latin American universities featured in the QS list do not appear at all in THE – including Argentina’s Universidad de Buenos Aires, which this year reached the highest position ever achieved by a Latin American institution in the QS World University Rankings.  

Africa & Middle East

The Times Higher Education ranking tends to result in higher positions for universities in both South Africa and Turkey, as well as featuring more universities in northern African countries such as Morocco and Tunisia. On the other hand, universities in Middle Eastern countries such as Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have a stronger presence in the QS ranking, which also accords higher positions to the leading Egyptian institutions. 

For more in-depth analysis of this year’s QS World University Rankings, the free digital supplement is available to read online. Join the conversation on Twitter with #QSWUR.

Which young universities have succeeded in rapidly climbing the international university rankings? Watch our video to explore this year’s top 10 universities under 50 years old – and get the full list here.

Video by Kai Song for TopUniversities.com

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016-2017, released today, sees the University of Oxford take the number one spot – pushing out California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which had led the list for the previous five years.

This is the latest installation in a cluster of rankings launched in recent weeks – following the Shanghai Ranking, QS World University Rankings®, and US News. Among the growing number of international rankings, QS and THE are perhaps closest, in their approach to assessing universities and presentation of results. Yet even these two rankings diverge significantly, due to differences in the indicators used, and the weightings applied when calculating overall scores.

So, how do the latest editions of the QS and Times Higher Education rankings compare?

At a glance:

-          Massachusetts Institute of Technology remains top in QS (for fifth consecutive year).

-          University of Oxford leads THE, pushing former table-topper Caltech into second.

-          High level of correlation between the two lists – 0.80 overall, and 0.71 in the top 100.

-          Both see generally downwards movement for UK and other European countries this year.

-          Asian universities rising in both, but still better-represented in QS.

-          QS results generally more stable year on year.

While there is a large degree of correlation between the two lists, there are also significant differences, both in terms of the positions accorded, and universities that are included or omitted. Notable examples include the University of Buenos Aires, Trinity College Dublin, University of Malaya, Sciences Po, Kazakh National University, Beijing Normal University and Grenoble Alpes University, which all appear in the QS ranking but not THE. In some cases, such as Trinity College Dublin, this appears to be due to a data submission error, with the institution likely to be reinstated next year.

Overall, the QS results are more stable year on year. The average change in position within the top 100 is 4.2 in QS, compared to 7.6 in this year’s THE. For the top 200, QS’s average shift is 6.6 places, and THE’s 12.6.

In addition to Oxford’s triumph over Caltech, the Times Higher Education top 10 also sees the addition of the University of California, Berkeley, which climbs from 13^th to =10^th. Meanwhile this year’s QS ranking saw Stanford climb from =3^rd to 2^nd, switching places with Harvard, while Cambridge fell from =3^rd to 4^th. Imperial College London and ETH Zurich also exchanged positions.

While the two sets of top-10 institutions overlap to a large extent, there are several divergences. UCL is absent from THE’s top 10 (now 15^th, down one from last year). And while Princeton is only one place outside the QS top 10, Berkeley presents an example of a greater disparity between the two rankings, not appearing until 28^th.

Despite Oxford’s success in becoming the first UK institution to lead the Times Higher Education ranking, overall both QS and THE have seen downwards movement for UK universities this year. There are now only 12 UK representatives in THE’s top 100, down from 16 last year, and UK institutions are down by an average of nine places. Although there are still 18 UK entries in the QS top 100, most either lost ground or stayed static this year.

Germany remains the third most-represented country at the top level of the Times Higher Education ranking, followed by the Netherlands, and in general the methodology applied by THE tends to produce stronger results for continental European institutions. Switzerland has been a notable exception to this trend, though this year improves its representation in THE’s list; ETH Zurich and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are now joined in the top 100 by the University of Basel, with the University of Zurich hovering just six places outside.

Canada loses one of its top-100 entries in the new Times Higher Education ranking, with McMaster University falling from =94^th to =113^th. However, it comes close to being replaced by the University of Montréal, which has climbed 10 places to 103^rd, closely followed by the University of Alberta, which leaps 30 positions to rank 107^th.

While the QS ranking has so far featured leading Asian universities more prominently than Times Higher Education, this year sees the latter go some way towards catching up in its representation of the region. China’s two leading entries – Peking University and Tsinghua University – have climbed from 42^nd to 29^th and from =47^th to 35^th respectively, and the top nine Chinese universities have all improved their rankings.

Hong Kong now has three top-100 universities in the Times Higher Education ranking – one more than last year – with the Chinese University of Hong Kong climbing 62 places to 76^th, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 10 places to 49^th, and the University of Hong Kong one place to =43^rd.

Meanwhile South Korea has doubled its presence in the Times Higher Education top 100 compared to last year, with Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) making a dramatic leap of 59 positions to rank =89^th, joining Seoul National University (=72^nd, up 13 places). Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) is not far behind, climbing 12 positions to =104^th.

However, Asian institutions remain more prominent in the QS ranking. China, for instance, has seven institutions in the QS top 200, compared to four in THE. Meanwhile, Asia’s leading representative in both rankings – the National University of Singapore (NUS) – has climbed two places to 24^th in the Times Higher Education ranking, its highest ever position. Yet, in keeping with the wider regional general trend, it has already reached 12^th in the QS ranking, and remains stable there this year.

Though the Times Higher Education list now covers more universities – 978, compared to QS's 916 – the QS ranking remains more diverse. There are 57 countries featured in the QS top 500, compared to 43 in the same range of the THE list, and 45 in the latest Shanghai Ranking.

Got a question about the differences between the QS and Times Higher Education rankings, or an opinion to share about their approaches to assessing universities? Have your say in the comments below.