Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings 2009: Top 100 universities

Now in their 6th edition, the Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings received a record level of responses from both the academic community and employers in 2009, with results suggesting that the dominance of the traditionally elite universities is increasingly being challenged.

In total 9,386 academics (compared to 6,354 in 2008 – an increase of 47%) and 3,281 employers (compared to 2,339 in 2008 – an increase of 40%) responded to the surveys reflecting the growing influence and importance of the rankings.

US and UK institutions still dominate the top 10: Harvard retains top spot. | . Cambridge moves in to 2nd place, ahead of Yale. The rise of University College London to 4th place ahead of Oxford (5th equal with Imperial College) will be one of the major talking points this year. UCL outperformed its 800 year old peer, in terms of citations per faculty. | . Princeton returns to the top 10. Ben Sowter, Head of the QS Intelligence Unit, responsible for the compilation of the Rankings, says: “The rise of University College London and Imperial College in recent years shows that concerted research efforts can result in improved performance in the increasingly competitive field of global higher education.”

There are a number of new insights among the top 100 universities: A dramatic fall in the number of North American universities in the top 100, from 42 in 2008 to 36 in 2009, reflects the growing presence and impact of Asian and European institutions on the world higher education stage. Of these, McGill was the highest ranked Canadian University, up two places at 18th.

There are 39 European universities in the top 100, up from 36 in 2008. ETH Zurich is the top ranked continental European university at 20th place.

The number of Asian universities in the top 100 also increased – from 14 to 16 institutions. The University of Tokyo, at 22nd, is the highest ranked Asian university, ahead of the University of Hong Kong at 24th (which came top of the inaugural QS.com Asian University Rankings in May 2009).

A new university classification system differentiates between generalist universities and more focused, or specialist institutions, where Europe does well: The top specialist engineering university is École normale supérieure - Paris |. The top specialist social science university is London School of Economics | . Phil Baty, Deputy Editor of the Times Higher Education comments: “We are particularly pleased that this year QS and the Times Higher Education are drawing on more data than ever before to compile the rankings, with a wider set of research citations data, and the best ever response rate to the international peer review survey.”

Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director of QS observes: “Governments and universities around the world are investing to increase their profile and recognition on the international stage, as higher education becomes an increasingly global industry. Today the rankings are used by employers identifying from where to recruit, academics choosing where to work and with whom to form partnerships, and by parents and students looking to make a sound education decision. Although rankings are contentious, the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings are meeting vital needs of these various stakeholders.” [www.topuniversities.com]