Upasana Gupta - October 7, 2014

Caltech #1 in World University Ranking

U.S., U.K. Schools Losing Ground to Asian Institutions

The California Institute of Technology retained the top spot for a third consecutive year in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, followed by Harvard University and Oxford University.

As was the case last year, the top 10 includes seven U.S. universities. Perhaps the most striking development in this year's ranking is the fact that Yale University makes the top 10 for the first time, pushing the University of Chicago into 11th position. The other three top spots are occupied by U.K. institutions: the University of Oxford (3rd); the University of Cambridge (5th) and the Imperial College London (9th).

(Suggested Read: 5 Admission Tips for Ivy League Schools; Do College Rankings Matter?; 2014's Top ROI Colleges)

The Top 20 Universities in the World:

1. California Institute of Technology
2. Harvard University
3. University of Oxford
4. Stanford University
5. University of Cambridge
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. Princeton University
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. Imperial College London
9. Yale University
11. University of Chicago
12. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
13. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
14. Columbia University
15. Johns Hopkins University
16. University of Pennsylvania
17. University of Michigan
18. Duke University
19. Cornell University
20. University of Toronto

(Source: Times Higher Education)

The United States and Great Britain once again dominated the list of top 200 schools, but the number of U.S. colleges this year slipped to 74 from 77, while U.K. based institutions dropped to 29 from 31. However, 2014-15 rankings showed significant improvement in Asia as 24 institutions in the region made the top 200 schools, up from 20 last year.
Institutions from China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong all made the list.

(Look-up International schools and colleges in graduate and undergraduate studies)

Although the U.S. dominates the list of top universities in the world, Phil Baty, the editor of Times Higher Education in a press release clearly notes that spending cuts in U.S. educational institutions is making it hard for U.S. based universities to compete in global markets, especially in East Asian regions where institutions are growing as a result of strong government funds and thriving economy. "East Asia's top universities continue their strong upward movement in the rankings," Baty said. "At the same time, many Western universities, in many cases starved of vital public funding, are losing ground."

The top 200 universities represents the top 1 percent of the world’s higher education institutions. However, according to Times Higher Education, inorder to qualify as an average 200 top university, an institution needs to have-

-A total annual income of $751,139 per academic (compared with $606,345 for a top 400 university);
-A student-to-staff ratio of 11.7:1 (compared with 12.5:1 for a top 400 university);
-Hire 20 percent of its staff from abroad (compared with 18 percent for a top 400 university);
-A total research income of $229,109 per academic (compared with $168,739 for a top 400 university);
-Publish 43 percent of all its research papers with at least one international co-author (compared with 42 percent at a top 400 university);
-A student body made up of 19 percent international students (compared with 16 percent at a top 400 university).

Further, The Times Higher Education's World University Rankings are based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available. These 13 performance indicators are grouped into five areas:

1. Teaching: the learning environment (worth 30 per cent of the overall ranking score);
2. Research: volume, income and reputation (worth 30 per cent);
3. Citations: research influence (worth 30 per cent);
4. Industry Income: innovation (worth 2.5 per cent);
5. International Outlook: staff, students and research (worth 7.5 per cent).

For the full methodology and analysis of the rankings visit: Times Higher Education site.