Top Universities in the US 2016/17

Submitted by sabrina@qs.com on Thu, 09/01/2016 - 17:16

Click here to view the latest version of this article, based on the QS World University Rankings® 2020.

The world’s leading international study destination, the US consistently dominates the global rankings tables – and this remains the case in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017. Top US universities account for almost a third (32) of the top 100 positions in the ranking, with a further 30 US universities in the global top 300. Read on to discover this year’s top 10, as well as how the other 144 top US universities featured in the ranking.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tops the QS World University Rankings 2016-2017, placing 1st for the fifth year running. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is of course known for its physical sciences and engineering, but is also increasingly well-respected for other subject areas in the social sciences, arts and humanities.

2. Stanford University

Climbing one place this year to overtake Harvard, Stanford University ranks second in the world in the 2016-2017 tables. Located in the heart of the famous Silicon Valley, Stanford University and is particularly well-known for its business courses – with an alumni community full of successful entrepreneurs.

3. Harvard University

Harvard University concludes the uninterrupted trio of US universities at the top of the QS World University Rankings this year. Harvard is the oldest university in the US, dating back to 1636, and achieved the top position for life sciences and medicine in the QS World University Rankings by Faculty 2015. 

4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Retaining fifth place in the overall world ranking this year is California Institute of Technology, commonly known as Caltech, located in the city of Pasadena, California. The smallest US university in the top 10, Caltech punches above its weight – particularly in scientific and technical subjects.

5. University of Chicago

Ranked fifth in the US and tenth in the world this year, the University of Chicago is affiliated with 89 Nobel Prize winners, and its physics department is known for developing the world’s first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction.

6. Princeton University

Princeton University retains its position, at 11th place once again this year. Another of the oldest US universities, it’s especially renowned for academic excellence in the arts and humanities, achieving seventh place for this in the faculty rankings.

7. Yale University

Ranked 15th in the world, Yale University’s alumni includes five US presidents and 13 billionaires, and in 1861 the university awarded the first PhD in the US. Around 20% of Yale’s 12,385 students are international, representing 118 countries.

8. Cornell University

Located in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University ranks 16th in the world this year. Having awarded the nation’s first veterinary medicine degree, it currently ranks second in the world for veterinary science in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016.

9. Johns Hopkins University

Ranked 17th in the world, Johns Hopkins University was established in 1876. Considered to be the first research university in the US, it is particularly esteemed for research and teaching in the life sciences and medicine (achieving fifth place for this in the QS World University Rankings by Faculty).

10. University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Penn, is ranked 18th in the world this year. Located in Philadelphia, it’s another institution which is highly regarded for life sciences and medicine, achieving first place in this year’s inaugural ranking of the world’s top nursing schools.

The remaining 20 top universities in the US (all but one of which are in the top 50) this year are…

11. Columbia University (ranked 20th in the world)

12. University of Michigan (ranked 23rd in the world, up from joint 30th last year)

13. Duke University (ranked joint 24th in  the world)

14. Northwestern University (ranked 26th in the world)

15. University of California, Berkeley (UCB; ranked 28th in the world)

16. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA; ranked 31st in the world)

17. University of California, San Diego (UCSD; ranked 40th in the world)

18. New York University (NYU; ranked joint 46th in the world)

19. Brown University (ranked joint 49th in the world)

20. University of Wisconsin-Madison (ranked joint 53rd in the world)

 

The next 58 top US universities all achieved positions in the global top 400:

21. Carnegie Mellon University (ranked 58th in the world)

22. University of Washington (ranked 59th in the world)

23. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ranked 66th in the world)

24. University of Texas at Austin (ranked 67th in the world)

25. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; ranked 71st in the world)

26. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (ranked 78th in the world)

27. University of California, Davis (UCD; ranked joint 85th in the world)

28. Ohio State University (ranked 88th in the world)

29. Boston University (ranked 89th in the world)

30. Rice University (ranked 90th in the world)

31. Purdue University (ranked 92nd in the world)

32. Pennsylvania State University (ranked joint 95th in the world)

33. Washington University in St. Louis (ranked joint 106th in the world)

34. University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB; ranked 118th in the world)

35. University of Maryland, College Park (ranked joint 131st in the world)

36. University of Southern California (ranked 136th in the world)

37. University of Minnesota (ranked 137th in the world)

38. University of Pittsburgh (ranked 145th in the world)

39. Emory University (ranked joint 149th in the world)

40. University of California, Irvine (UCI; ranked 156th in the world)

41. Dartmouth College (ranked 158th in the world)

=42. Texas A&M University (ranked joint 160th in the world)

=42. Michigan State University (ranked joint 160th in the world)

44. University of Colorado at Boulder (ranked 170th in the world)

45. University of Virginia (ranked 172nd in the world)

46. University of Florida (ranked joint 185th in the world)

47. University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC; ranked joint 187th in the world)

48. University of Rochester (ranked 194th in the world)

49. Case Western Reserve University (ranked 202nd in the world)

=50. Vanderbilt University (ranked joint 203rd in the world)

=50. University of Notre Dame (ranked joint 203rd in the world)

52. Georgetown University (ranked joint 214th in the world)

53. Arizona State University (ranked 222nd in the world)

54. University of Arizona (ranked 233rd in the world)

55. Tufts University (ranked 238th in the world)

56. University of Massachusetts, Amherst (ranked 251st in the world)

57. University of Miami (ranked joint 252nd in the world)

58. University of California, Riverside (UCR; ranked 271st in the world)

59. North Carolina State University (ranked 277th in the world)

60. Indiana University Bloomington (ranked 291st in the world)

61. University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC; ranked 296th in the world)

62. Boston College (ranked joint 299th in the world)

63. Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick (ranked 301st in the world)

64. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ranked joint 310th in the world)

65. Yeshiva University (ranked joint 330th in the world)

66. University at Buffalo Suny (ranked 342nd in the world)

67. University of Hawaii at Mānoa (ranked 343rd in the world)

=68. Virginia Polytechnic Institute (Virginia Tech; ranked joint 361st in the world)

=68. Northeastern University (ranked joint 361st in the world)

70. George Washington University (ranked joint 363rd in the world)

71. University of Kansas (ranked 373rd in the world)

72. University of Colorado at Denver (ranked joint 374th in the world)

73. University of Texas Dallas (ranked joint 380th in the world)

74. American University (ranked 384th in the world)

75. Colorado State University (ranked joint 386th in the world)

76. Stony Brook University (ranked joint 390th in the world)

77. University of Iowa (ranked joint 393rd in the world)

78. Washington State University (ranked joint 395th)

After the top 400, the world’s top universities are given a rank in a range, starting from 401-410, up to 701+. You can find out more here.

The following 19 US universities are all in the global top 500:

=79. Brandeis University (ranked 401-410)

=79. Illinois Institute of Technology (ranked 401-410)

=79. Wake Forest University (ranked 401-410)

=82. University of Delaware (ranked 411-420)

=82. University of Utah (ranked 411-420)

=84. Iowa State University (ranked 421-430)

=84. University of Connecticut (ranked 421-430)

=86. Florida State University (ranked 431-440)

=86. The University of Georgia (ranked 431-440)

88. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (ranked 441-450)

89. Oregon State University (ranked 451-460)

=90. University of New Mexico (ranked 461-470)

=90. University of Oklahoma (ranked 461-470)

=90. University of Tennessee (ranked 461-470)

=90. Wayne State University (ranked 461-470)

94. Clark University (ranked 471-480)

95. Lehigh University (ranked 481-490)

=96. University of Nebraska (ranked 491-500)

=96. University of South Florida (ranked 491-500)

The ranking now continues in a wider range, grouping universities in bands of 50:

=98. City University of New York (501-550)

=98. Drexel University (501-550)

=98. Michigan Technological University (501-550)

=98. Missouri University of Science and Technology (501-550)

=98. Tulane University (501-550)

=98. University of Kentucky (501-550)

=104. College of William & Mary (551-600)

=104. Howard University (551-600)

=104. Syracuse University (551-600)

=104. University of Cincinnati (551-600)

=104. University of Massachusetts, Boston (551-600)

=104. University of Missouri, Columbia (551-600)

=104. University of Oregon (551-600)

=104. University of South Carolina at Columbia (551-600)

=104. University of Vermont (551-600)

=113. Clarkson University (601-650)

=113. New School University (601-650)

=113. University of Alabama (601-650)

=113. University of Houston (601-650)

=113. University of Mississippi (601-650)

=113. University of New Hampshire (601-650)

=113. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (601-650)

=120. Brigham Young University (651-700)

=120. George Mason University (651-700)

=120. Louisiana State University (651-700)

=120. Rutgers - the State University of New Jersey, Newark (651-700)

=120. Stevens Institute of Technology (651-700)

=120. Temple University (651-700)

=120. University at Albany Suny (651-700)

=120. University of Denver (651-700)

=120. Virginia Commonwealth University (651-700)

Finally, 26 universities in the US are in the 701+ range of the QS World University Rankings:

This means they’re equally placed at joint 129th among US universities.

=129. Auburn University (701+)

=129. Baylor University (701+)

=129. Binghamton University Suny (701+)

=129. Clemson University (701+)

=129. Fordham University (701+)

=129. Georgia State University (701+)

=129. Kansas State University (701+)

=129. Kent State University (701+)

=129. Loyola University Chicago (701+)

=129. Marquette University (701+)

=129. Miami University (701+)

=129. New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT; 701+)

=129. Ohio University (701+)

=129. Oklahoma State University (701+)

=129. San Diego State University (701+)

=129. Smith College (701+)

=129. Southern Methodist University (701+)

=129. University of Arkansas (701+)

=129. University of Central Florida (701+)

=129. University of Montana Missoula (701+)

=129. University of San Diego (701+)

=129. University of San Francisco (701+)

=129. University of the Pacific (701+)

=129. University of Tulsa (701+)

=129. University of Wyoming (701+)

=129. Utah State University (701+)

To compare top US universities on each of the six indicators assessed by the rankings, explore the interactive results table. 

Find out more about studying in the US with our complete guide. 

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Can Financial Investment Buy University Success?

Submitted by guest.writer@qs.com on Thu, 09/01/2016 - 12:11

Martin Ince looks at the evidence gathered by the OECD on how university spending affects higher education achievement, alongside analysis of the latest QS World University Rankings

Over the past century, educating children has come to be regarded as a basic task for a working society. In the rich world, virtually all children go to school, while in the developing world, an “inclusive and equitable quality education” is one of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 across the South.

And a school-educated population is a national asset that most governments realize is worth paying for. According to the OECD’s Education at a Glance handbook for 2015, 91% of the money spent on non-tertiary education in the OECD nations comes from the public purse.

But even governments that accept the need to pay for schools are less inclined to fund the whole cost of higher education. The same OECD report notes that in contrast with the position for schools, 30% of the money that goes into tertiary education comes from private sources. The biggest of these is income from tuition fees paid by students and their families. Other sources of private income, such as contracts for industrial research, are smaller but still important.

Steady growth in private funding

There is also a clear trend for private funding to grow over time. The OECD finds that for countries where data is available, public funding declined from 69 to 65% of spending between 2000 and 2012.

It is possible to argue that money is money, and where it comes from does not matter, provided universities have enough of it. However, there are also critics who claim that this growing dependence on tuition fee income is bad for universities. It encourages them to grow student numbers faster than they add teaching staff, and in recent years both the UK and Australia have abandoned state controls on student numbers.

It also makes universities dependent on cash flow that can easily be diverted elsewhere if a particular institution falls in student attractiveness. And in many nations, especially the US, the sheer volume of debt built up by current fee levels is so great as to have become a national political and economic issue.

But let’s use the OECD data to look at this controversy in a new way. What, if anything, is the link between higher education spending and university success, as measured by the QS World University Rankings®?

Variation in HE spending per student

The OECD finds that its members spent an average of US$15,028 on each university student in 2012, about 50% more than the average spending on a child in primary school. But rates of growth in this spending vary wildly.

While some nations have cut spending since the 2008 financial crisis, others have continued to expand. Of the 34 nations on which the OECD has firm data, six were spending less per student in 2012 than in 2005. Hungary, Switzerland and Iceland were spending 85, 87 and 90% as much per student respectively as they had seven years earlier. (All these figures are corrected for the effects of inflation in the country in question.)

As the Swiss have one of the world’s most capable higher education systems, with its top universities ranked 8th and 14th in this year’s QS World University Rankings, this perhaps suggests that growing expenditure per student is not a prerequisite for university success.

The same data shows that one nation – Australia – was spending exactly as much per student as in 2005, and that Israel, Mexico and the Netherlands are essentially unaltered. However, Australia’s student numbers also grew by 33% over the same period. So the amount of cash in the higher education system rose drastically between 2005 and 2012.

Australia is of course a massive player in global higher education, and is a magnet for mobile students from Asia and beyond. It has four top-50 universities in this year’s QS World University Rankings, although its flagship institution, the Australian National University, has fallen out of the top 20.

The Netherlands, too, is well-represented in this and all other international university rankings, with a dozen top-200 institutions in the 2016 QS ranking. However, nine of these are worse-placed now than in 2015, while only three are higher. This may suggest that both countries are putting enough money into their universities to keep them functioning as world-class institutions, but have no plans for heavy new investment.

Asian investors’ success in climbing rankings

If we look at countries with significant increases in spending per student, we find that many are involved in a national catch-up operation with the rich West, including the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Also notable is Japan, which is spending more per student by 14%, at a time when student numbers are falling, making this growth steadily more affordable.

Sadly, the figures gathered by the OECD do not cover Singapore, whose top universities are in 12th and 13th place in this year’s QS World University Rankings. Five years ago they were placed 28th and 58th. However, we know that the Singaporean government has put immense resources into higher education. One sign of this success is that the Singapore Management University, set up in 2000, is one of the newest institutions in the QS ranking, entering this year in the 431-440 bracket.

However, the most striking point to emerge from the OECD data is that the biggest single increase in spending took place in South Korea, which in 2012 was spending 38% more per student in higher education than in 2005. Student numbers there were also up by 3% from 2005 and by 11% since 2000.

A look at this year’s QS World University Rankings alongside the 2011 edition shows that in those five years, Korea has grown its presence in our top 200 from five institutions to seven. Of the original five, all are better-placed now than in 2011. The top two, Seoul National University and KAIST, are up from 42nd to 35th, and from 90th to 46th respectively over the five years, while Korea University is up from 190th to 98th. This must be strong evidence that money spent on students is at least one factor in improved university performance.

Do ‘excellence initiatives’ work?

We know that governments do not want universities to compete only on the education they provide. They also want them to be globally important centers for the production of new knowledge. And in recent years, many have decided that the way to compete with the US and the UK as major research powers is to imitate their policy of concentrating research cash in a small number of institutions.

This has certainly been the approach taken by South Korea, where Seoul National University and a few others have received most of the nation’s university research funding. The same applies in Taiwan, whose flagship institution, National Taiwan University, has risen from 87th to 68th in our rankings in the past five years.

Nations from China to Latin America have imitated this approach, often with large amounts of money. An OECD analysis of these schemes looked at the biggest of them all, the German Excellence Initiative, which spent €24 billion between 2006 and 2010. It was judged a success in terms of strengthening university recruitment and early career prospects for researchers, in a system that has often been criticized for its inflexibility. The funding will continue at a lower level until at least 2017.

While the Excellence Initiative is regarded as having been transformative for German higher education, it is tricky to discern its effects on Germany’s standing in the QS rankings. In 2011 there were four German universities in the top 100, and in 2016 there still are. The three that were there in both years are all now lower-placed.

Running faster just to stay still

Perhaps the most successful attempt to boost a nation’s higher education standing has been in China, where 39 institutions benefit from the 985 program, worth almost RMB 2 billion (US$300 million) each to the biggest winners, Peking University and Tsinghua University. In 2011, these two were placed 46th and 47th respectively in the QS ranking. Now they are 39th and 24th. However, the number of Chinese universities in the top 200 remains at seven, the same total as five years ago.

It is very difficult for even the best-funded of these initiatives to match the big money available to the elite US universities that dominate the upper reaches of the ranking, or indeed their close rivals in the UK. Only Singapore has been able to push its universities into the top 20 in the face of this opposition.

In addition, there is a powerful Red Queen effect at work, which means that it is hard to stay still in these rankings, much less to move up. For example, the average top-100 university in the rankings had 4,243 international students in 2011 and has 6,117 now, a 44% increase. This means more money for the university, as well as a more elite student body.

They also had 32% more papers indexed in the Scopus database used to develop the rankings, up from an average of 23,778 to 31,467 now. That means that their research spending is likely to be on the rise. It suggests too that only a massive effort, such as those we have seen in South Korea and Singapore, and at the topmost level in China, is likely to have the effect of propelling contender universities into the upper reaches of the rankings.

For more expert analysis, read the free online supplement to the QS World University Rankings.

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Top Universities in the UK 2016/17

Submitted by sabrina@qs.com on Thu, 09/01/2016 - 12:08

Click here to view the latest version of this article, based on the QS World University Rankings® 2020.

There are 71 top universities in the UK which rank among the world’s best in the QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017, including four in the global top 10, and a further 26 in the top 200. The top 10 UK universities unsurprisingly include both halves of Oxbridge, as well as four institutions in the country’s dynamic capital city London – but the list also features leading institutions from a much broader set of UK locations. Read on to discover the top UK universities this year, starting with a focus on the country’s top 10.

Click here to view last year’s list, and here to view the full 2016-2017 rankings table.

1. University of Cambridge

Retaining first place amongst UK universities is the University of Cambridge, ranked 4th in the world this year. One of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1209), Cambridge is closely linked to the business cluster ‘Silicon Fen’ and currently educates around 19,000 students of various nationalities.

2. University of Oxford

The oldest university in the English-speaking world, the University of Oxford is ranked 6th in the world and 2nd in the UK this year. This highly prestigious institution has educated no fewer than 27 Nobel Prize winners, 27 UK Prime Ministers, and many more successful figures, such as Sir Stephen Hawking.

3. UCL (University College London)

UCL is the highest ranked university in London for the second time in a row this year, placing 7th in the global ranking and therefore 3rd amongst UK universities. An impressive 15,600 of UCL’s 38,300 students are from outside the UK, providing good grounds for its claim to be ‘London’s global university’.

4. Imperial College London

Imperial College London is the last of these top UK universities to appear in the global top 10, ranked 9th in the world this year. Known for its high-impact research and innovation, Imperial founded the first academic health science center in the UK.

5. University of Edinburgh

Consistently the highest-ranked university in Scotland, the University of Edinburgh climbs two places in the worldwide ranking this year to rank 19th. Founded in 1582, the university is a member of the prestigious Russell Group, as well as the League of European Research Universities.

6. King's College London (KCL)

Heading back to the south, and King’s College London is this year ranked 21st in the world. KCL is known for its medical teaching and research, and is home to the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, the world’s first professional nursing school.

7. University of Manchester

Up four places to rank 29th in the world in 2016/17, the University of Manchester is another well-respected Russell Group member, the largest single-campus UK university and one of the largest in the country in terms of student numbers.

8. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is ranked joint 37th in the world this year (alongside Japan’s Kyoto University). LSE specializes in the social sciences and has a very diverse student body, with around 9,600 full-time students from 140 countries.

9. University of Bristol

Ranked 41st in the world, the University of Bristol in South West Englandis another member of the Russell Group of research-intensive UK universities and has been associated with 12 Nobel Prize winners throughout its 140-year history.

10. University of Warwick

Actually located on a self-contained campus just outside of Coventry, the University of Warwick is ranked joint 51st this year alongside Australia’s University of Queensland. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, it’s already established a strong international reputation in its first half-century.

The rest of the top 20 UK universities are…

11. University of Glasgow – ranked joint 63rd in the world. 

12. Durham University – ranked 74th in the world.

13. University of Nottingham – ranked joint 75th in the world.

14. University of St Andrews – ranked 77th in the world.

15. University of Birmingham – ranked 82nd in the world.

16. University of Sheffield – ranked 84th in the world.

17. University of Southampton – ranked 87th in the world.

18. University of Leeds – ranked 93rd in the world.

19. Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) – joint 123rd in the world.

20. University of York – ranked 127th in the world.

 

The remaining top universities in the UK, in order of how they ranked this year, are… 

21. Lancaster University – ranked 129th in the world.

22. Cardiff University – ranked 140th in the world.

23. University of Aberdeen – ranked joint 141st in the world.

24. University of Liverpool – ranked 157th in the world.

25. University of Bath – ranked 159th in the world.

26. University of Exeter – ranked joint 164th in the world.

27. Newcastle University – ranked 168th in the world.

28. University of Reading – ranked 175th in the world.

29. University of Sussex – ranked joint 187th in the world.

30. Queen's University of Belfast – ranked 195th in the world.

31. Royal Holloway University of London – ranked 235th in the world.

32. Loughborough University – ranked 237th in the world.

33. University of Leicester – ranked joint 239th in the world.

34. University of Dundee – ranked 244th in the world, up from joint 261st last year.

=35. SOAS - School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London – ranked joint 252nd in the world, up from joint 275th last year.

=35. University of East Anglia (UEA) – ranked joint 252nd in the world.

37. University of Surrey – ranked 261st in the world.

38. University of Strathclyde – ranked joint 272nd in the world.

39. Birkbeck College, University of London – ranked joint 280th in the world, up from 290th last year.

40. City University London – ranked 314th in the world.

41. Heriot-Watt University – ranked joint 327th in the world.

42. University of Essex – ranked joint 330th in the world.

43. Brunel University – ranked joint 345th in the world.

44. Aston University – ranked 358th in the world.

45. Oxford Brookes University – ranked joint 359th in the world.

46. University of Kent – ranked joint 366th in the world.

47. University of Stirling – ranked 385th in the world.

48. Swansea University – ranked joint 390th, up from joint 400th last year.

After the global top 400, the remaining universities are ranked in ranges, starting from 401-410, going up to 701+.

Click here to find out more. 

49. Bangor University – ranked 411-420 in the world.

50. Goldsmiths, University of London – ranked 421-430 in the world.

51. Aberystwyth University – ranked 491-500 in the world.

52. Kingston University, London – ranked 501-550 in the world.

Three top UK universities are ranked in the 551-600 range this year, making them joint 53rd overall in the UK:

=53. Keele University – ranked 551-600 in the world.

=53. University of Bradford – ranked 551-600 in the world.

=53. University of Hull – ranked 551-600 in the world.

Three top universities in the UK are ranked in the global top 601-650, and are therefore joint 56th in the UK:

=56. Middlesex University – ranked 601-650 in the world.

=56. University of Portsmouth – ranked 601-650 in the world.

=56. University of Ulster – ranked 601-650 in the world.

Another three top UK universities are placed 651-700, and are therefore joint 59th in the UK:

=59. Coventry University – ranked 651-700 in the world.

=59. London Metropolitan University – ranked 651-700 in the world.

=59. Plymouth University – ranked 651-700 in the world. 

The remaining 10 top universities in the UK are all ranked in the 701+ range:

This makes them all joint 62nd in the UK.

=62. Manchester Metropolitan University

=62. Northumbria University at Newcastle

=62. Nottingham Trent University

=62. Robert Gordon University

=62. University of Central Lancashire

=62. University of East London

=62. University of Greenwich

=62. University of Hertfordshire

=62. University of Huddersfield

=62. University of Salford

Find out more about studying in the UK with our complete guide.

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5 Steps to Become a Creative Director

Submitted by sponsored.cont… on Thu, 09/01/2016 - 09:37

Sponsored by the Royal College of Art

La crème de la crème of creative jobs. The final echelon for design graduates and seasoned artists alike. That much-prized creative director role you’ve been looking for is just around the corner, but you need to know how to beat the competition and market yourself to recruiters to get it. Here are five steps you should follow to become a hot-shot creative director in no time…

1. Gain some work experience after graduation.


Before you hop onto the grad school bandwagon, it’s vital that you get those years of work experience in. Once you’ve got your bachelor of arts in graphic design or animation, you should be sending out polished CVs, portfolios and original cover letters (see point four) to recruiters and HR managers, and start learning on the job. Find out what you’re good at. Pick up new skills. Discover what you’re really interested in. Build a network of contacts worldwide.

2. Find out where you want to be.


Whether you’re planning on working in advertising or publishing, you need to make sure that you know your industry back to front. Do the research. Keep in mind that you would be spearheading very different design and conceptual work at a magazine than you would at a marketing agency or a book publisher.  Which industry resonates the most with you? What would you like to achieve?

3. Be a technophile.                 


Today’s creative director is many things, including a technologist! Experience with HTML, PHP, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Flash is absolutely essential, and knowledge of coding and developing would be advantageous. You need to be able to communicate with developers in their own terminology, as confidently as you would with the client or your team of designers.

4. Creative personalization wins the day.


You may want to consider alternative ways of grabbing your dream company’s attention. Accessing those higher positions in the industry is notoriously difficult and sometimes a killer portfolio and great experience just won’t cut it. To land their dream creative jobs, designers resort to all sorts of inventive ways to showcase their talents to HR managers, such as this clever copywriting CV disguised as a patient information leaflet, or this gorgeous illustrated application for a job at Pixar.

5. Invest in a postgraduate degree.


Once you’ve established yourself, earned the respect of your colleagues and have a few years of experience behind you, start thinking about how to reach the next level. You might want to consider enrolling on a postgraduate course, such as the Royal College of Art’s master’s degrees in information experience design, design products or visual communications. This is an opportunity to gain new skills, build a network of contacts and acquire the necessary credentials to access a higher-level position. Like other RCA alumni, you could cut the queue straight to a leadership position by the time you graduate.

Follow in the footsteps of eminent designers, artists and inventors…

Proving that creative jobs do exist for those with the right skillset, 86% of graduates of the UK’s Royal College of Art (RCA) find work within six months of graduation. And it’s not hard to see why…

With famous alumni including David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Orla Kiely and eight members of Apple’s top design team, RCA is one of the most prestigious universities of art and design worldwide and offers state-of-the-art facilities for budding artists, architects and designers.

For a chance to meet RCA deans this year, students based in the US should email the RCA's Head of Communications, Áine Duffy, stating their discipline and preferred date:

  • 22 October in San Francisco
  • 30 October in New York City
  • 5 November in Chicago
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QS World University Rankings 2016/17 – Out Now!

Submitted by laura@qs.com on Wed, 08/31/2016 - 12:52

The thirteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings, released today, sees leading US and UK universities retain their positions at the top – though facing a growing challenge from the world’s emerging economic powers.

Holding onto the top spot for the fifth consecutive year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is now followed by Stanford University, which has climbed one place this year. Harvard University (which led the ranking from 2004-9) is now third, while the University of Cambridge (another former table-topper) slips to fourth, having shared joint third with Stanford last year.

The rest of the top 10 is predominantly stable, though Switzerland’s ETH Zurich continues its upwards trajectory, switching places with the UK’s Imperial College London.

There’s a slight pause in momentum for Asia’s frontrunners – the National University of Singapore and country-mate Nanyang Technological University – which hold steady at 12th and 13th respectively. A little further down the list, China’s leading light, Tsinghua University, climbs one place to its highest-ever position, at joint 24th.

QS World University Rankings 2016-2017: Top 10

2016

2015

Institution

Country

 1

 1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

United States

 2

 3=

Stanford University

United States

 3

 2

Harvard University

United States

 4

 3=

University of Cambridge

United Kingdom

 5

 5

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

United States

 6

 6

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

 7

 7

UCL (University College London)

United Kingdom

 8

 9

ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Switzerland

 9

 8

Imperial College London

United Kingdom

 10

 10

University of Chicago

United States

 

Strong upwards momentum for Asia’s HE hubs

The ranking shows progress for some (though not all) of the world’s fast-developing economies, including both China and Russia, and for leading higher education hubs across Asia.

China now has three universities in the global top 50; Tsinghua (=24) is joined by Peking University, which climbs two places to 39th, and Fudan University, which climbs eight positions to 43rd. Eight of the C9 group have improved their overall positions this year, with eight of these nine also gaining ground in the indicator assessing research impact.

There’s also a more general pattern of upwards momentum for institutions across Asia’s leading higher education hubs. All but one of Hong Kong’s seven featured institutions have moved up this year, with three featuring in the top 50. Both South Korea and Malaysia see their leading institutions continue to climb, and – after several years of decline – there’s a more positive picture this year for Japan as well, with 14 of the top 20 Japanese universities moving up.

The majority of Russian universities featured in the ranking have also improved their positions this year – four of them by more than 100 places. Though the nation has yet to break into the global top 100, its leading entrant, Lomonosov National State University, stays stable just outside, at 108th.

National funding key to rankings progress?

While high levels of national investment and dedicated programs such as Russia’s 5-100 initiative and China’s 211 and 985 projects appear to be paying off, other nations are struggling to keep pace. The table this year shows institutions losing ground across most of Western and Southern Europe, as well as much of Latin America.

These patterns largely correlate with current and planned funding trends, as QS’s head of research, Ben Sowter, has suggested: “It’s not universal, but it seems clear, based on a strongly identifiable pattern, that institutions and systems with consistent or improving funding are gaining ground, whilst those being squeezed are losing out.”

A notable exception to this pattern is the US, whose institutions continue to go from strength to strength in the rankings, even amidst ongoing concerns about university funding and student debt. Many US institutions have maintained or improved their positions this year, and the country claims almost a quarter (48) of the top-200 entries. This is also the first time since the inaugural 2004/5 edition that US universities have occupied all three top spots.

The picture is not quite so bright for fellow higher education heavyweight, the UK. Though still making 30 appearances in the top 200, many UK universities have fallen in the table this year. Like many of their counterparts across continental Europe, British institutions are amongst those being forced to give way, as rising stars elsewhere in the world stake their claim to a place among the best.

About the QS World University Rankings®

Published annually, 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 916 universities (25 more than last year) in 81 countries, following an assessment of more than 3,800 institutions. The results are presented in an interactive table, which can be filtered by both location and indicator.

In 2013, QS became the first compiler of international rankings to be independently audited and approved by the IREG Observatory on Academic Rankings and Excellence. Alongside the QS World University Rankings, the "IREG Approved" label is also carried by the QS University Rankings: Asia and the QS University Rankings: Latin America.

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

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Top Universities in the World 2016/17

Submitted by laura@qs.com on Wed, 08/31/2016 - 11:52

Click here for the latest version of this article, based on the 2020 results. 

The QS World University Rankings® 2016-2017, released today, showcases just over 900 of the top universities in the world. If you consider that there are an estimated 20,000 universities worldwide in total, it’s clear that ranking among the top 900 is quite an achievement – while those in the top 100 are truly part of a global elite. Here’s an overview of the very top universities in the world this year…

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Leading the list for the fifth consecutive year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is proving difficult to shift from the top spot, thanks to its strong international reputation, highly influential research, and healthy faculty/student ratio.

2. Stanford University

Based in Silicon Valley, Stanford University climbs one place in the ranking this year, overtaking Harvard in the process. It scores well across all of the indicators used in the ranking, particularly the global reputation surveys of academics and employers.

3. Harvard University

It may no longer be at the top of the ranking (which it led between 2004 and 2009), but Harvard University remains one of the world’s most-respected institutions across a broad range of subject areas – and in fact it’s still number one in both of the reputation surveys.

4. University of Cambridge

Breaking the US monopoly, the UK’s University of Cambridge is another former table-topper. Scoring well across all metrics assessed in the ranking, it has a particularly strong faculty/student ratio – reflecting its longstanding commitment to small-group tuition.

5. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Though much smaller than most of the top universities in the world, Caltech punches well above its weight, particularly in the science and technology subjects on which it is focused. Impressively, it beats both halves of Oxbridge on faculty/student ratio, and also stands out for its high research impact.

6. University of Oxford

Never far apart, the two halves of ‘Oxbridge’ are almost neck and neck on each of the six indicators assessed, with Oxford in fact narrowly beating Cambridge for its proportion of international students and faculty, as well as claiming a slightly better faculty/student ratio.

7. UCL (University College London)

The UK’s third representative, UCL claims to be “London’s Global University” – and this assertion is well-founded. It has one of the most international student bodies amongst the top universities in the world, as well as being highly rated by both academics and employers.

8. ETH Zurich

The highest-ranked institution from outside of the US and UK, Switzerland’s ETH Zurich has been steadily climbing the table – this year improving its position by one. Its strongest scores are for international diversity of faculty and research impact, reflecting its status as a global research powerhouse.

9. Imperial College London

Though one place further apart than previously, Imperial College London is still hot on the heels of fellow London institution UCL, and remains renowned for its work in scientific and technical subjects, as well as its prestigious business school.

10. University of Chicago

Stable in 10th place, the University of Chicago rounds out the top 10 once again. Scoring particularly well in the academic reputation survey, it is further bolstered by its strong reputation with employers, and its high research impact.

Top universities in the world by country

Excluding the US, UK and Switzerland – whose top universities all feature within the global top 10 – here’s an at-a-glance review of the highest-ranked institutions in each of the countries represented in the top 100:

Top in Argentina: Universidad de Buenos Aires (joint 85th)

Top in Australia: Australian National University (22nd)

Top in Belgium: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven; 79th)

Top in Canada: McGill University (30th)

Top in China: Tsinghua University (joint 24th)

Top in Denmark: University of Copenhagen (joint 68th)

Top in Finland: University of Helsinki (91st)

Top in France: Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (ENS Paris; 33rd)

Top in Germany: Technische Universität München (TUM; 60th)

Top in Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong (27th)

Top in Ireland: Trinity College Dublin (joint 98th)

Top in Japan: University of Tokyo (34th)

Top in the Netherlands: University of Amsterdam (57th)

Top in New Zealand: University of Auckland (81st)

Top in Singapore: National University of Singapore (12th)

Top in South Korea: Seoul National University (35th)

Top in Sweden: Lund University (73rd)

Top in Taiwan: National Taiwan University (joint 68th)

To discover more of the top universities in the world, check out the full interactive ranking table, and sort the results by performance indicator and by country. Registered site members (join for free!) can also directly compare up to four universities on additional criteria, including average tuition fees, size and ranking history.

Want more content like this? Register for free site membership to get regular updates and your own personal content feed.

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QS World University Rankings 2016/2017 – Global Press Release

Submitted by staff.writer@qs.com on Tue, 08/30/2016 - 16:17

Information under strict embargo until 00:01 BST on Tuesday 6th September

 

Investment in higher education pays in QS World University Rankings 2016-2017

Join the conversation #QSWUR

 

The thirteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings indicates that investment in higher education – either public or private – is a key differentiating factor between this year’s risers (South Korea, Russia, the United States, and China) and fallers (Western and Southern Europe, South Africa, and Latin America).

Highlights

  • MIT the world's top university for the fifth year.
  • Stanford, 2nd (previously 3=) and Harvard, 3rd (previously 2nd) follow.
  • US institutions hold all top-three places for the first time since 2004-5.
  • Western European institutions consistently suffer drops, particularly the United Kingdom and Germany. Cambridge drops to fourth.
  • Russia and South Korea rise significantly (latter has 16 top-500 universities compared to 13 last year).
  • China continues to progress, with Tsinghua (24th) rising to its highest-ever position.
  • National University of Singapore (12th) remains the leading Asian institution.
  • Australia and Canada increase their representation in the top 200, with nine universities apiece, one more than last year.
  • Latin America struggles, but sees an institution in the top 100 for the first time. Universidad de Buenos Aires (85th) occupies the highest rank ever achieved by a university from the region.

74,651 academics and 37,781 employers contributed to the rankings through the QS global surveys, the largest of their kind. QS analyzed 10.3 million research papers and 66.3 million citations, indexed by Elsevier's Scopus database. Over 3,800 institutions were considered for inclusion and 916 ranked.

 

2016

2015

Top 20

Country

1  

1  

MIT

US

2  

3=

STANFORD

US

3  

2  

HARVARD

US

4  

3=

CAMBRIDGE

UK

5  

5  

CALTECH

US

6  

6  

OXFORD

UK

7  

7  

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

UK

8  

9  

ETH ZURICH

CH

9  

8  

IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

UK

10  

10  

CHICAGO

US

11  

11  

PRINCETON

US

12  

12  

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

SG

13  

13  

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

SG

14  

14  

EPFL

CH

15  

15  

YALE

US

16  

17  

CORNELL

US

17  

16  

JOHNS HOPKINS

US

18  

18  

UPENN

US

19  

21  

EDINBURGH

UK

20  

22  

COLUMBIA

US

© QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2016 topuniversities.com

 

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said: “This year’s rankings imply that levels of investment are determining who progresses and who regresses. Institutions in countries that provide high levels of targeted funding, whether from endowments or from the public purse, are rising. On the other hand, some Western European nations making or proposing cuts to public research spending are losing ground to their US and Asian counterparts.”

The rankings include 916 universities from 81 countries. Thirty-three countries feature in the Top 200. The US dominate, with 48 institutions, ahead of the UK (30), Netherlands (12), Germany (11), Canada, Australia (9), Japan (8), China (7), France, Sweden and Hong Kong (5).  

The full QS World University Rankings for 2016-2017 can be found here.

-Ends-

 

To request country-specific press releases, please contact the QS Press Office:

Simona Bizzozero
Head of Public Relations
QS Quacquarelli Symonds
simona@qs.com
pressoffice@qs.com
@qs_pressoffice
+ 44(0)7880620856
+44 (0) 2072847248

Jack N. Moran
PR Executive
QS Quacquarelli Symonds
jack@qs.com
pressoffice@qs.com
@JackNathanMoran

Notes for editors

QS World University Rankings®

The QS World University Rankings is an annual league table of the top universities in the world and is arguably the best-known and respected ranking of its kind. Compiled by the QS Intelligence Unit in close consultation with an international advisory board of leading academics, the QS World University Rankings® is widely referenced by prospective and current students, university professionals and governments worldwide. The purpose of the rankings has been to recognize universities as the multi-faceted organisations they are and to provide a global comparison of their success against their notional mission of becoming or remaining world-class. The QS World University Rankings are based on four key pillars, research, teaching, employability and internationalisation and the methodology consists of six indicators: academic reputation (40%), employer reputation (10%), faculty student ratio (20%), citations per faculty (20%), international students (5%), and international faculty (5%).

http://content.qs.com/qsiu/Faculty_Area_Normalization_-_Technical_Explanation.pdf

Key facts and figures

74,651 academics and 37,781 employers’ responses contributed towards the results, making both surveys the largest of their kind in the world.
•Over 3,800 institutions were considered for inclusion this year and 916 ranked, 25 more than in 2015.
10.3 million papers indexed by the the Scopus/Elsevier bibliometric database were analyzed, and 66.3 million citations counted, which amounted to 50.4 million citations once self-citations were excluded.

QS Intelligence Unit www.iu.qs.com

QS has been conducting research in a range of areas since 1990, beginning with a global survey of MBA employers. The QS World University Rankings®, the most established of the range of research projects that QS operates, have been in existence since 2004. To meet the increasing public interest for comparative data on universities and organisations, and the growing demand for institutions to develop deeper insight into their competitive environment, the QS Intelligence Unit (QSIU) was formed in 2008 as a distinct and autonomous department. Committed to the key values of rigorous integrity, unique insight, undeniable value and accessible presentation, QSIU strives to be the most trusted independent source of global intelligence on the higher education sector.

Ben Sowter

Sowter is the head of research at the QS Intelligence Unit. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham, where he was also awarded the Union Prize for outstanding contribution to the student union and served as chairman of the Nottingham University Debating Society. Ben is fully responsible for the operational management of all major QS research projects and is actively involved in all the collection, compilation and tabulation of all the data that lead to, amongst others, the QS World University Rankings research with which he has been involved since its initial inception in 2004. A frequent contributor to the press, Ben’s opinion on global education trends and his expertise is used regularly by major global publications

About Scopus

Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and features tools to track, analyse and visualize scholarly research. Its comprehensive database contains 55+ million items indexed from 21,000 titles from more than 5,000 publishers worldwide, ensuring broad interdisciplinary coverage in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. Scopus was designed and developed with input from researchers and librarians and features direct links to subscribed full-text articles, other library resources and interoperability with applications such as reference management software. Scopus is part of the Elsevier Research Intelligence portfolio which includes the SciVal tools, the Pure system, rich data assets and custom Analytical Services.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions – among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey – and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 33,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

Global impact of the QS World University Rankings

IREG approval

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is the first compiler of global and regional university rankings to receive the “IREG Approved” label for three of its research outputs. The Observatory on Academic Rankings and Excellence (IREG) Executive Committee, at its meeting in Warsaw on 15th May 2013, decided to grant to QS the rights to use the “IREG Approved” label in relation to the following three rankings: QS World University Rankings, QS University Rankings: Asia, and QS University Rankings: Latin America. More information on its correct usage is available here.

The Global Innovation Index (GII)

The QS World University Rankings has been used as one of the indicators for the GII since 2013. The QS ranking is the only ranking of its kind to be used for the study. The GII is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, a specialized agency of the United Nations). The annual report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results.

The Bank of Communications Sea Turtle Index

The Bank of Communications Sea Turtle Index was developed and produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which benchmarks the potential returns – academic, financial, and social – on an international undergraduate education in 80 cities worldwide. These were chosen first by clustering the top 300 universities from the QS World University Rankings into major cities, allowing for richer data and greater regional diversity in results. EIU analysts then used OECD statistics on the percentage of international students going to each country to decide on the number of cities to feature per country.

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