world's best colleges

World's Best Colleges: Top 400
Posted June 18, 2009
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U.S. News & World Report's World's Best Colleges and Universities rankings based on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings identified these to be the world's top universities in 2008.
Rank Overall Score
1 Harvard University United States 100.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 96 International Faculty Score 87 International Students Score 81 Citations per Faculty Score 100
2 Yale University United States 99.8
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 89 International Students Score 71 Citations per Faculty Score 98
3 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 99.5
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 99 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 95 Citations per Faculty Score 89
4 University of Oxford United Kingdom 98.9
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 96 International Students Score 96 Citations per Faculty Score 85
5 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States 98.6
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 74 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 100
6 Imperial College London United Kingdom 98.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 83
7 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom 98.1
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 96 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 89
8 University of Chicago United States 98.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 78 International Students Score 83 Citations per Faculty Score 91
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States 96.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 90 International Faculty Score 33 International Students Score 94 Citations per Faculty Score 100
10 Columbia University United States 96.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 29 International Students Score 89 Citations per Faculty Score 94
11 University of Pennsylvania United States 96.1
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 88 International Faculty Score 83 International Students Score 79 Citations per Faculty Score 99
12 Princeton University United States 95.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 75 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 82 Citations per Faculty Score 100
13 Duke University United States 94.4
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 66 Citations per Faculty Score 94
13 Johns Hopkins University United States 94.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 78 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 68 Citations per Faculty Score 100
15 Cornell University United States 94.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 90 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 76 Citations per Faculty Score 96
16 Australian National University Australia 92.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 91 Citations per Faculty Score 74
17 Stanford University United States 91.2
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 67 International Faculty Score 26 International Students Score 87 Citations per Faculty Score 100
18 University of Michigan United States 91.0
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 85 International Faculty Score 59 International Students Score 51 Citations per Faculty Score 84
19 University of Tokyo Japan 90.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 27 International Students Score 40 Citations per Faculty Score 78
20 Mcgill University Canada 89.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 99 International Faculty Score 62 International Students Score 95 Citations per Faculty Score 51
21 Carnegie Mellon University United States 89.6
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 50 International Students Score 97 Citations per Faculty Score 79
22 King'S College London United Kingdom 89.5
Academic Peer Review Score 93 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 89 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 85 Citations per Faculty Score 70
23 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 89.3
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 82 Citations per Faculty Score 70
24 Eth Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland 89.1
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 82 Student to Faculty Score 56 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 94 Citations per Faculty Score 99
25 Kyoto University Japan 87.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 87 Student to Faculty Score 80 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 26 Citations per Faculty Score 91
26 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 87.1
Academic Peer Review Score 94 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 86 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 92 Citations per Faculty Score 59
27 Brown University United States 85.2
Academic Peer Review Score 92 Employer Review Score 83 Student to Faculty Score 64 International Faculty Score 56 International Students Score 58 Citations per Faculty Score 99
28 École Normale Supérieure, Paris France 84.8
Academic Peer Review Score 93 Employer Review Score 72 Student to Faculty Score 68 International Faculty Score 29 International Students Score 69 Citations per Faculty Score 99
29 University of Manchester United Kingdom 84.4
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 84 Citations per Faculty Score 56
30 National University of SINGAPORE(NUS) Singapore 84.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 39 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 75
30 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States 84.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 48 International Faculty Score 23 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 100
32 University of Bristol United Kingdom 84.1
Academic Peer Review Score 83 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 85 International Students Score 74 Citations per Faculty Score 74
33 Northwestern University United States 83.3
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 78 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 61 Citations per Faculty Score 82
34 École Polytechnique France 83.0
Academic Peer Review Score 80 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 62 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 58
34 University of British Columbia Canada 83.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 69 International Faculty Score 33 International Students Score 61 Citations per Faculty Score 67
36 University of California, Berkeley United States 82.9
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 24 International Faculty Score 88 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 100
37 The University of Sydney Australia 82.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 55 International Faculty Score 97 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 54
38 The University of Melbourne Australia 82.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 59 International Faculty Score 54 International Students Score 96 Citations per Faculty Score 56
39 Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Hong Kong 81.4
Academic Peer Review Score 86 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 60 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 97 Citations per Faculty Score 72
40 New York University (NYU) United States 81.3
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 83 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 56 Citations per Faculty Score 54
41 University of Toronto Canada 81.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 18 International Faculty Score 80 International Students Score 46 Citations per Faculty Score 100
42 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 81.0
Academic Peer Review Score 85 Employer Review Score 84 Student to Faculty Score 80 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 86 Citations per Faculty Score 57
43 University of Queensland Australia 80.7
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 49 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 78 Citations per Faculty Score 63
44 Osaka University Japan 80.1
Academic Peer Review Score 90 Employer Review Score 69 Student to Faculty Score 93 International Faculty Score 25 International Students Score 28 Citations per Faculty Score 70
45 University of New South Wales Australia 79.8
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 35 International Faculty Score 83 International Students Score 91 Citations per Faculty Score 68
46 Boston University United States 79.1
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 85 Student to Faculty Score 66 International Faculty Score 26 International Students Score 59 Citations per Faculty Score 73
47 Monash University Australia 78.7
Academic Peer Review Score 98 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 52 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 99 Citations per Faculty Score 37
48 University of Copenhagen Denmark 78.5
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 59 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 67 International Students Score 69 Citations per Faculty Score 45
49 Trinity College Dublin Ireland 78.2
Academic Peer Review Score 90 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 68 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 76 Citations per Faculty Score 42
Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.topuniversities.com) See Schools 50-99 »

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Reader Comments
Read all 113 comments about this article
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals

The only university that I did not expect to be among 400 top universities is “King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals”. For 2008 it is ranked at 338, for previous years it was ranked far away from this position … I am very surprised!!
Ismail of OK
Jul 22, 2009 04:20:03 AM [permalink] [report comment]

What a mess.

I agree with many of the previous comments regarding the methodological problems and would like to raise one more issue: the "total" university. Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, UChicago, UCLA, Duke, etc are total universities in that they offer bachelors through doctorate in many liberal arts and sciences as well as law, medical, business, and even public policy degrees. Princeton doesn't have any professional programs (unless you count the Wilson School). It has fantastic science and engineering programs, but for the students looking for a professional program it is a dead end. MIT and CalTech offer little in the way of any liberal arts curriculum let alone the total lack of a medical or law program. These may be the most prestigious technical institutes in the world, but they are not the "total" university. If I founded a university tomorrow that offered the greatest liberal arts programs (bachelor - doctorate) in the world but had only basic science courses and no professional programs, could that be in the top 10? Should it be? The answer is emphatically no. Princeton, MIT, CalTech, LSE, etc are all great schools, but I would think that a high ranking would require a more well-rounded university. Undoubtedly, these schools still deserve a spot somewhere on the list, just not at the top.

I don't know about you, but I don't read USN&WR. This ranking racket seems to be their most popular topic and, unfortunately for them, it is a useless endeavor. I strongly agree with a previous poster that the magazine would receive a low ranking in terms of relevant news sources. This topic, its bread-and-butter, only serves to cloud high school seniors' judgment when making one of the most important choices they will make - "where will I have the best experience given my academic/professional interests?" USN&WR capitalizes on the hysterics of 17 year-olds, like a boy band, and then tries to quantify a potential four-year experience at university. I bet even the moderator wishes they had studied architecture or law or something useful.

To conclude with one of the greatest comments I have ever read on a message board: "now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go about ranking the world's religions in terms of plausibility."
Paul of IL
Jul 22, 2009 01:40:46 AM [permalink] [report comment]

Overall ranking should not be simply based on average score

The scoring scheme is not good, but the simple average score based ranking scheme is even more problematic. UC Berkeley got perfect 100 scores on three categories - arguably the most important categories for measuring the quality of a college, but overall it was ranked a #36 because its overall score is only 82.9. The low overall score is due to extremely low score in Student to Faculty score which is a very good indicator of how strict of this college in mantaining its high standard, therefore, students tend to give lower scores to their professors. Once students get through employers really like them for their competeness, which should be weighted more than Student to Faculty score. After all, ranking should reflect the quality of colleges not biased opinions of students.