World's Best Universities: About the Rankings
U.S.News & World Report's World's Best Universities rankings, based on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, identified these to be world's top universities in 2009.
U.S.News & World Report is proud to publish our second annual version of the World's Best Universities rankings.
These new 2009 World's Best Universities rankings are based on data from the THE-QS World University Rankings, which were produced in association with QS Quacquarelli Symonds. QS Quacquarelli Symonds, one of the world's leading networks for careers and education, has been publishing world rankings since 2004. These rankings have obtained increasing influence among academics worldwide and have a growing effect on prospective students and government policymakers.
The 2009 U.S. News World's Best Universities rankings enable our readers to understand how American institutions perform when compared with other institutions of higher learning. The bottom line is that U.S.-based universities perform very well: Fifty-four of the top 200 universities worldwide, or nearly 27 percent of the total, are located in the United States. The United Kingdom comes next, with 29 schools, or 14.5 percent of the total, making it into the top 200.
When U.S. News started publishing America's Best Colleges rankings over 25 years ago, no one predicted the influence these lists would acquire as both a consumer tool and a force for accountability in American higher education. What began with little fanfare has spawned college rankings in countries around the world. Global institutional ranking systems like the one we are publishing here are variations on the original idea of our national rankings.
The world is rapidly changing. More students and faculty are eager to explore the higher education options that exist outside their countries. Universities worldwide are competing for the best and brightest students, the most highly recognized research faculty, and coveted research dollars. Countries at all levels of economic development are trying to build world-class universities to serve as economic and academic catalysts. And more universities are seeking world-class status to become players on the global academic stage. In other words, the world of higher education is becoming increasingly "flat."
The major research universities in the United States are aware of these global trends and have been expanding and competing internationally for several years. In fact, American higher education's large research-doctoral granting university model is now being copied by universities and higher education systems in many other countries. This new World's Best Universities top 200 rankings help put these global trends in context.
In addition to the overall top 200 world ranking list, we are publishing lists for the Top 30 Asian Universities, Top 20 Australian and New Zealand Universities, Top 20 Canadian Universities, and Top 30 European and U.K. Universities. We also are producing top 50 global rankings in the fields of arts and humanities; engineering and IT; life sciences and biomedicine; natural and physical sciences; and social sciences.
How are the World's Best Universities rankings different from the U.S. News America's Best Colleges and the U.S. News America's Best Graduate Schools rankings?
First, none of the data used in the America's Best Colleges and America's Best Graduate Schools rankings are used to compute any of the World's Best Universities rankings. The world rankings are based on the THE-QS World University Rankings, which are produced in association with QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Quacquarelli Symonds does all the data collection and calculations for the World's Best Universities rankings.
Second, the methodology used to compute the World's Best Universities rankings is different in many key areas from what we use in the U.S. News America's Best Colleges and U.S. News America's Best Graduate Schools. It's true that both the America's Best and the World's Best Universities rankings use peer surveys. However, the survey process used to calculate peer assessment and recruiter reviews in the World's Best Universities rankings are conducted very differently. Because of the limitations and the availability of cross-country comparative data, the world ranking system relies heavily on research performance measured through citations per faculty member. The U.S. News rankings do not use citation analysis.
The U.S. News America's Best Colleges and America's Best Graduate Schools rankings rely heavily on student and school-specific data—such as scores on admission tests, graduation rates, retention rates, and financial resources—that are not part of World's Best Universities because such student and school-specific data can't be compared internationally.
About our partners. The Times Higher Education (www.timeshighereducation.co.uk) was founded in 1971 and is the weekly magazine of universities across the world. It's the United Kingdom's most authoritative source of information about higher education. It's designed specifically for professional people working in higher education and research. It is no longer affiliated with the Times of London.
QS Quacquarelli Symonds provides guidance for higher education and career choices, enabling high achievers to progress toward their leadership goals. QS uses exclusive events, publications, research, and interactive Web tools to link undergraduate, graduate, M.B.A., and executive communities around the world with recruiters and education providers. QS's communities include QSTopUniversities.com, QSTopGradSchool.com, QSTopMBA.com, and QSGlobalWorkplace.com. QS operates from offices in London, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, Boston, and Johannesburg, South Africa.
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