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World's Best Universities: Top 400

Posted February 25, 2010

U.S.News & World Report's World's Best Universities rankings, based on the QS World University Rankings, identified these to be the world's top universities in 2009.

Rank					Overall Score
1	Harvard UniversityUnited States				100.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 98	International Faculty Score 85	International Students Score 78	Citations per Faculty Score 100
2	University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom				99.6
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 98	International Students Score 96	Citations per Faculty Score 89
3	Yale UniversityUnited States				99.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 85	International Students Score 77	Citations per Faculty Score 94
4	UCL (University College London)United Kingdom				99.0
Academic Peer Review Score 98	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 96	International Students Score 99	Citations per Faculty Score 90
5	Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom				97.8
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 98	International Students Score 100	Citations per Faculty Score 80
5	University of OxfordUnited Kingdom				97.8
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 96	International Students Score 97	Citations per Faculty Score 80
7	University of ChicagoUnited States				96.8
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 97	International Faculty Score 77	International Students Score 83	Citations per Faculty Score 88
8	Princeton UniversityUnited States				96.6
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 96	Student to Faculty Score 82	International Faculty Score 89	International Students Score 81	Citations per Faculty Score 100
9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States				96.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 89	International Faculty Score 31	International Students Score 95	Citations per Faculty Score 100
10	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)United States				95.9
Academic Peer Review Score 99	Employer Review Score 72	Student to Faculty Score 87	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 89	Citations per Faculty Score 100
11	Columbia UniversityUnited States				95.6
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 97	International Faculty Score 28	International Students Score 89	Citations per Faculty Score 92
12	University of PennsylvaniaUnited States				94.2
Academic Peer Review Score 96	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 85	International Faculty Score 82	International Students Score 60	Citations per Faculty Score 98
13	Johns Hopkins UniversityUnited States				94.1
Academic Peer Review Score 98	Employer Review Score 79	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 28	International Students Score 71	Citations per Faculty Score 99
14	Duke UniversityUnited States				92.9
Academic Peer Review Score 95	Employer Review Score 97	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 29	International Students Score 62	Citations per Faculty Score 93
15	Cornell UniversityUnited States				92.5
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 85	International Faculty Score 28	International Students Score 73	Citations per Faculty Score 94
16	Stanford UniversityUnited States				92.2
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 71	International Faculty Score 25	International Students Score 96	Citations per Faculty Score 100
17	Australian National UniversityAustralia				90.5
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 91	Student to Faculty Score 75	International Faculty Score 99	International Students Score 92	Citations per Faculty Score 74
18	McGill UniversityCanada				90.4
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 97	Student to Faculty Score 92	International Faculty Score 67	International Students Score 95	Citations per Faculty Score 61
19	University of MichiganUnited States				89.9
Academic Peer Review Score 99	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 85	International Faculty Score 57	International Students Score 52	Citations per Faculty Score 81
20	University of EdinburghUnited Kingdom				89.3
Academic Peer Review Score 97	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 84	International Faculty Score 93	International Students Score 86	Citations per Faculty Score 65
20	ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)Switzerland				89.3
Academic Peer Review Score 97	Employer Review Score 80	Student to Faculty Score 55	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 94	Citations per Faculty Score 99
22	University of TokyoJapan				88.9
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 97	Student to Faculty Score 98	International Faculty Score 28	International Students Score 42	Citations per Faculty Score 70
23	King's College LondonUnited Kingdom				88.4
Academic Peer Review Score 91	Employer Review Score 98	Student to Faculty Score 90	International Faculty Score 92	International Students Score 88	Citations per Faculty Score 67
24	University of Hong KongHong Kong				87.5
Academic Peer Review Score 96	Employer Review Score 89	Student to Faculty Score 87	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 95	Citations per Faculty Score 56
25	Kyoto UniversityJapan				87.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 93	Student to Faculty Score 81	International Faculty Score 32	International Students Score 26	Citations per Faculty Score 85
26	University of ManchesterUnited Kingdom				85.7
Academic Peer Review Score 94	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 79	International Faculty Score 90	International Students Score 87	Citations per Faculty Score 58
27	Carnegie Mellon UniversityUnited States				85.6
Academic Peer Review Score 94	Employer Review Score 93	Student to Faculty Score 56	International Faculty Score 62	International Students Score 96	Citations per Faculty Score 88
28	Ecole Normale Supérieure, ParisFrance				85.4
Academic Peer Review Score 94	Employer Review Score 87	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 76	International Students Score 61	Citations per Faculty Score 53
29	University of TorontoCanada				85.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 96	Student to Faculty Score 63	International Faculty Score 82	International Students Score 51	Citations per Faculty Score 74
30	National University of Singapore (NUS)Singapore				84.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 96	Student to Faculty Score 40	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 100	Citations per Faculty Score 75
31	Brown UniversityUnited States				83.9
Academic Peer Review Score 88	Employer Review Score 85	Student to Faculty Score 67	International Faculty Score 53	International Students Score 55	Citations per Faculty Score 97
32	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)United States				83.5
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 98	Student to Faculty Score 46	International Faculty Score 21	International Students Score 33	Citations per Faculty Score 100
32	Northwestern UniversityUnited States				83.5
Academic Peer Review Score 86	Employer Review Score 97	Student to Faculty Score 78	International Faculty Score 28	International Students Score 100	Citations per Faculty Score 79
34	University of BristolUnited Kingdom				83.4
Academic Peer Review Score 83	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 84	International Faculty Score 85	International Students Score 77	Citations per Faculty Score 69
35	Hong Kong University of Science and TechnologyHong Kong				83.3
Academic Peer Review Score 89	Employer Review Score 86	Student to Faculty Score 84	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 99	Citations per Faculty Score 54
36	École PolytechniqueFrance				83.1
Academic Peer Review Score 76	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 100	International Faculty Score 63	International Students Score 95	Citations per Faculty Score 65
36	University of MelbourneAustralia				83.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 57	International Faculty Score 59	International Students Score 97	Citations per Faculty Score 61
36	University of SydneyAustralia				83.1
Academic Peer Review Score 99	Employer Review Score 97	Student to Faculty Score 58	International Faculty Score 99	International Students Score 95	Citations per Faculty Score 53
39	University of California, BerkeleyUnited States				82.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 100	Student to Faculty Score 25	International Faculty Score 86	International Students Score 34	Citations per Faculty Score 100
40	University of British ColumbiaCanada				81.2
Academic Peer Review Score 100	Employer Review Score 93	Student to Faculty Score 51	International Faculty Score 34	International Students Score 60	Citations per Faculty Score 77
41	University of QueenslandAustralia				80.7
Academic Peer Review Score 94	Employer Review Score 95	Student to Faculty Score 47	International Faculty Score 99	International Students Score 82	Citations per Faculty Score 67
42	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland				80.6
Academic Peer Review Score 67	Employer Review Score 70	Student to Faculty Score 92	International Faculty Score 100	International Students Score 100	Citations per Faculty Score 84
43	Osaka UniversityJapan				80.1
Academic Peer Review Score 92	Employer Review Score 73	Student to Faculty Score 90	International Faculty Score 24	International Students Score 33	Citations per Faculty Score 68
43	Trinity College DublinIreland				80.1
Academic Peer Review Score 88	Employer Review Score 96	Student to Faculty Score 72	International Faculty Score 98	International Students Score 83	Citations per Faculty Score 49
45	Monash UniversityAustralia				80.0
Academic Peer Review Score 98	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 56	International Faculty Score 95	International Students Score 96	Citations per Faculty Score 42
46	The Chinese University of Hong KongHong Kong				79.6
Academic Peer Review Score 87	Employer Review Score 77	Student to Faculty Score 77	International Faculty Score 97	International Students Score 79	Citations per Faculty Score 55
47	University of New South WalesAustralia				79.0
Academic Peer Review Score 96	Employer Review Score 99	Student to Faculty Score 39	International Faculty Score 82	International Students Score 93	Citations per Faculty Score 62
47	Seoul National UniversityKorea, South				79.0
Academic Peer Review Score 99	Employer Review Score 69	Student to Faculty Score 92	International Faculty Score 29	International Students Score 33	Citations per Faculty Score 47
49	University of AmsterdamNetherlands				78.9
Academic Peer Review Score 93	Employer Review Score 81	Student to Faculty Score 73	International Faculty Score 71	International Students Score 32	Citations per Faculty Score 62
49	Tsinghua UniversityChina				78.9
Academic Peer Review Score 98	Employer Review Score 83	Student to Faculty Score 95	International Faculty Score 45	International Students Score 34	Citations per Faculty Score 34
		Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.topuniversities.com)		See Schools 50-99 »

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Tags: colleges | rankings

Reader Comments

My general thoughts...

a) For all those complaining about 'bias' in the rankings, wake up and smell the coffee. Rankings are inherently flawed and are designed only to provide very general comparative information; individual needs must ultimately dictate school selection.

b) Berkeley is an amazing school but its quality is largely determined by research put out at the graduate level. Though its undergrad student body is superb, it is not at the level of Harvard, MIT, Yale or Oxbridge. It's overall position, accounting for undergraduate quality, should place it somewhere in the upper teens or low twenties. Amazing school but not quite at the very top.

c) Imperial and UCL need to get booted out of the top ten! That is where this ranking demonstrates extreme bias. Sorry, they simply aren't good enough to be in the top ten. Somewhere near but definitely behind Berkeley in the top twenties would be more appropriate. Putting these two ahead of Princeton and Stanford is a complete joke and insulting. Good thing well educated people put very little faith in rankings to begin with.

d) Stanford should be top five or at least top ten.

e) The ranking Paul made is useful in terms of establishing self-consistency. But it would be better to create a composite ranking that averages ARWU and USNWR-Global 400 with national rankings (USNWR-National and Good University Guide-UK). The results would then be:

1) Harvard

2) Cambridge

3) Yale

5) Princeton

5) Oxford

f) Asian universities are indeed inferior. Asian students (and most other students from other countries for that matter) do not get a broad, rigorous liberal arts eduction that trains them to critically reason or think creatively. Indian unis are far worse than Chinese but most Chinese universities are nowhere near the US or European standards. Even European unis are still a cut below, with some obvious exceptions. So people on this board need to stop seeing it as a racially or ethnically-based bias. It's just how it goes. The US has the best universities in the world.

Yale '08; Cambridge '09 of CT
Mar 20, 2010 22:55:22 PM [permalink] [report comment]

Stop Complaining

No one has ever heard of depaul. It's some small random christian university while Columbia is a world acclaimed school for it's curriculum. Same for everyone else. If you have a problem with this list, make your own. I'm sure it'll have your respective schools at the top.

George Witherspoon of AL
Mar 20, 2010 18:07:17 PM [permalink] [report comment]

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 201???

this list is so bias just because harvard and yale are rich as hell usnews ranks them in the top 20. This list isn't based on curriculum at all...

Rick of FL
Mar 20, 2010 17:42:00 PM [permalink] [report comment]

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