10 of world's 50 leading universities in the UK, study finds

[mike2000 is back]

University rankings: UK 'a stand-out performer'
By Katherine SellgrenBBC News education reporter

• 1 hour ago
  
• From the sectionEducation & Family

Image copyrightIbrakovic
Image captionThe tables rank universities worldwide on measures like teaching and research
The UK has 34 universities in the Times Higher Education ranking of the world's top 200 institutions.

Oxford climbs to second place, while Cambridge and Imperial College London also make the top 10 in fourth and eighth places respectively.

Keeping the top spot for the fifth consecutive year is the California Institute of Technology in the US.

Europe has a record number of universities in the world top 200, with 105 compared to 87 last year.

The tables rank universities worldwide on measures like teaching, research and international outlook - for example numbers of overseas students and staff.

20 TOP INSTITUTIONS
1. California Institute of Technology, US
2. University of Oxford, UK
3. Stanford University, US
4. University of Cambridge, UK
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
6. Harvard University, US
7. Princeton University, US
8. Imperial College London, UK
9. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
10. University of Chicago, US
11. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, US
12. Yale University, US
13. University of California, Berkeley, US
14. University College London, UK
15. Columbia University, US
16. University of California, Los Angeles, US
17. University of Pennsylvania, US
18. Cornell University, Ithaca, US
19. University of Toronto, Canada
20. Duke University, Durham, US
The majority of UK universities have moved up this year, some - for example Warwick, St Andrews and Exeter - by a significant margin.

There is good news for Reading, Dundee and Newcastle, re-establishing their places in the top 200 after slipping out last year.

However, five universities - Manchester, York, Leeds, Sussex and Royal Holloway, London - have slipped to lower positions in the tables, compared to last year when there were only 29 UK institutions in the top 200.

US institutions
While the US remains the world leader when it comes to elite universities, its dominance has been eroded this year.

It has six of the top 10 universities - down from seven last year - and 39 of the top 100 - down from 45 last year.

There is a mixed picture for Asia, with Japan and South Korea falling back this year and China remaining steady.

Europe is catching up on the dominance of the Anglo-American universities, with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich being the first institution from outside the US and UK to make the world top 10 in a decade.

Germany has 20 universities in the top 200 and the Netherlands has 12 and there are five from France, while Spain and Italy each have three.

Image copyrightdobok
Image captionThe US is losing dominance its in the rankings as Europe strengthens its position
Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education world university rankings, said: "The UK is a stand-out performer in this year's rankings, boasting an impressive 78 institutions overall, with 34 of these sitting in the top 200.

"However, despite the UK's success, its continued cuts in higher education funding - the Higher Education Funding Council for England received a £150 million budget slash this year - and series of immigration measures affecting overseas students, will hinder its performance in the long run.

"Many of the country's European rivals, such as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, are also performing well, but are less hindered by funding cuts and more welcoming for international students.

"The UK will have to work hard to ensure its higher education spending and immigration policies do not hinder its place in the world university rankings."

BRITISH INSTITUTIONS IN TOP 200 (LAST YEAR'S RANKING IN BRACKETS)
2 - Oxford (3)
4 - Cambridge (5)
8 - Imperial College London (9)
14 - University College London (22)
23 - London School of Economics and Political Science (34)
24 - Edinburgh (36)
27 - King's College London (40)
=56 - Manchester (52)
69 - Bristol (74)
70 - Durham (83)
=76 - Glasgow (94)
80 - Warwick (103)
86 - St Andrews (=111)
93 - Exeter (154)
97 - Sheffield (121)
98 - Queen Mary, University of London (107)
=110 - Southampton (132)
119 Birmingham (148)
129 - Royal Holloway, University of London (118)
130 - Lancaster (131)
=131 - York (113)
=133 - Leeds (146)
140 - Sussex (=111)
143 - Nottingham (171)
=149 - East Anglia (198)
157 - Liverpool (157)
=164 Reading (225)
=167 - Leicester (199)
172 - Aberdeen (178)
=182 Cardiff (between 201 and 225)
=185 Dundee (between 201 and 225)
=196 Newcastle (between 201 and 225)
=196 St George's, London (196)
200 Queen's, Belfast (between 251 and 275)

Dr Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group of leading UK universities, said "The UK spends much less on higher education and research than our nearest rivals.

"Our competitors in China, Germany and Japan continue to be rewarded with significant investment and are snapping at our heels as a result."

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: "If we want to maintain this leading position, we must start matching our competitors' increased investment in higher education.

"We should also be presenting a welcoming climate for genuine international students and academics and ensuring that visa and immigration rules and procedures are proportionate."

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: "It is great to see the UK is second only to the US for the number of world-class universities in the top 80.

"These rankings confirm the world-class standing of our higher education sector. Our reforms will ensure our universities continue to compete with the very best internationally and deliver high-quality teaching to students at home."

University rankings: UK 'a stand-out performer' - BBC News

Not bad for such a 'small' island.

 

[mike2000 is back]

Its Shocking to see the top 20 are all U.S and U.K universities(with Canada playing the spoiler. lol). Its a U.S and U.K affair baby. Hopefully in the coming years we might even overtake our boy the U.S itself.

 

[AViet]

Unlike PISA test, there is no clear criteria for ranking universities. You can rank a best Vietnamese university below a middle-tier US, UK, Phillipines or Indian university if you like, in fact few people care about this, except the media. In our company, when we recruit people, we do not care if he/she graduate from the US/UK or Vietnam. We care about their real experience and performance.

My direct subordinates includes people graduated from UK-based University of Leeds, US-based University of Pennsylvania (with Master degree) and University of New Castle (UK). All have more than 10 years of experience in US or similar countries. But in the work, except that their English skill are generally better, their performance are equal or less than a graduate from Hanoi University of technology with less experiences.

Do not be arrogant by such type of ranking. It is normally very far from truth.

 

[mike2000 is back]

Unlike PISA test, there is no clear criteria for ranking universities. You can rank a best Vietnamese university below a middle-tier US, UK, Phillipines or Indian university if you like, in fact few people care about this, except the media. In our company, when we recruit people, we do not care if he/she graduate from the US/UK or Vietnam. We care about their real experience and performance.

My direct subordinates includes people graduated from UK-based University of Leeds, US-based University of Pennsylvania (with Master degree) and University of New Castle (UK). All have more than 10 years of experience in US or similar countries. But in the work, except that their English skill are generally better, their performance are equal or less than a graduate from Hanoi University of technology with less experiences.

Do not be arrogant by such type of ranking. It is normally very far from truth.

Nope, not just that, U.S/U.K universities outperform many other countries due to the fact that we are the leading capitalistic countries in the world and also because we kind of invented modern capitalism anyway, so we have much more experience/knowledge of the current world financial system. Coupled with the fact that our language is the worlds global language by default. etc

Ranking are compiled using common criteria like for the Times Higher Education, Methodology formula is:: 30% of the ranking are due to research, and a further 30% due to the influence/quality of the research (citations). Meanwhile The Shanghai Ranking, Methodology: Quality of Faculty (Nobel prizes, Fields etc.) accounts for 40%. Research for another 40% (Ranking methodology of Academic Ranking of World Universities). So even considering the slight differences in criteria, U.S nad U.K universities still top the world.
Have you ever wondered why many developing countries leaders/officials like in China, India, Vietnam, AFRICA, Middle east, and even some developed states like Singapore/Taiwan send many of their children to study in the U.K/U.S? simply because they know we offer the best educational facilities in the world. Even the Chinese President only daughter studies at Harvard university. Many vietnamese officials send their kids here in U.K for studies as well. etc.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

Nope, not just that, U.S/U.K universities outperform many other countries due to the fact that we are the leading capitalistic countries in the world and also because we kind of invented modern capitalism anyway, so we have much more experience/knowledge of the current world financial system. Coupled with the fact that our language is the worlds global language by default. etc

Ranking are compiled using common criteria like for the Times Higher Education, Methodology formula is:: 30% of the ranking are due to research, and a further 30% due to the influence/quality of the research (citations). Meanwhile The Shanghai Ranking, Methodology: Quality of Faculty (Nobel prizes, Fields etc.) accounts for 40%. Research for another 40% (Ranking methodology of Academic Ranking of World Universities). So even considering the slight differences in criteria, U.S nad U.K universities still top the world.
Have you ever wondered why many developing countries leaders/officials like in China, India, Vietnam, AFRICA, Middle east, and even some developed states like Singapore/Taiwan send many of their children to study in the U.K/U.S? simply because they know we offer the best educational facilities in the world. Even the Chinese President only daughter studies at Harvard university. Many vietnamese officials send their kids here in U.K for studies as well. etc.

A lot of the ranking is based on "reputation".
It is much more likely that you know more about research in you home country than you do about
research in other countries, so large countries have an advantage here.

 

[Schutz]

A lot of the ranking is based on "reputation".
It is much more likely that you know more about research in you home country than you do about
research in other countries, so large countries have an advantage here.

More reputation = more funding, more international students wanting to come. My cousin is doing his post grad in Sweden (because its free ha) obviously Sweden has a very high level of education but international students generally look for a native English language school with alot of prestige/history etc, not that its "better" perse as all schools have their own specialist areas.

 

[AViet]

It is just another ranking. I do not take it too seriously.

China's Tsinghua ranks TOP 1 in world engineering universities

 

[Aepsilons]

Its Shocking to see the top 20 are all U.S and U.K universities(with Canada playing the spoiler. lol). Its a U.S and U.K affair baby. Hopefully in the coming years we might even overtake our boy the U.S itself.

A job well done, but let's also applaud the progress of Asian academic institutions as well. Two universities to note are University of Tokyo and Tsinghua University.

It is just another ranking. I do not take it too seriously.

China's Tsinghua ranks TOP 1 in world engineering universities

Incidentally, there is a reciprocity of graduate program(s) between University of Tokyo and Tsinghua University.

Talk about Sino Japanese Integration , in a developmental academic schema.