World's Best Universities: About the Rankings

U.S.News & World Report is proud to publish its fourth annual version of the World's Best Universities rankings.

These new 2011 rankings are based on data from 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 international rankings since 2004.

These rankings have obtained increasing influence among academics worldwide and have a growing effect on prospective students and government policymakers. The rankings themselves are the same as QS publishes on its website.

The new 2011 rankings once again include the top 400 universities worldwide. New this year are the top 100 Latin American universities and the top 100 Asian university rankings.

Also, for the first time, there are global rankings in 24 subject areas:

• Arts and humanities: English language and literature; geography and area studies; history; linguistics; modern languages; and philosophy.

• Engineering and technology: chemical engineering; civil engineering; computer science; electrical engineering; and mechanical, aeronautical, and manufacturing engineering.

• Life sciences: biological sciences; psychology

• Natural sciences: chemistry; earth and marine sciences; environmental sciences; mathematics; metallurgy and materials; and physics and astronomy.

• Social sciences: accounting and finance; economics and econometrics; politics and international studies; sociology; and statistics and operational research.

[See the methodologies used in the World's Best rankings.]

The 2011 U.S. News World's Best Universities rankings enable our readers to more fully understand how American institutions are performing when compared with other institutions of higher learning. The bottom line is that U.S.-based universities perform very well: Eighty-five of the Top 400 universities worldwide, or 21 percent, are in the United States.

The United Kingdom comes in second place with 43 universities, or 11 percent of the worldwide total. Germany was third with 36 universities, or 9 percent; Australia was fourth with 21 universities, or 5 percent; and France was fifth with 18 schools, or 5 percent.

Canada was in sixth place with 17 universities or 4 percent; Japan came in seventh with 16 universities, or 4 percent; Netherlands finished eighth with 12 universities, or 3 percent; South Korea was in ninth place with 10 schools, or 3 percent; and China and Italy were tied at 10th place with 9 schools, at 2 percent each. These top 11 countries accounted for 69 percent of the top 400, or 276 schools. In total, there are schools from 45 different countries represented in the top 400.

[See which U.S. universities performed the best in the World's Best 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."