Global University Rankings 2014

Having conducted expansive research by contacting 1,300 institutes and over 8,000 recruiters around the world, Youth Inc has ranked the top 100 universities in the world to pursue an undergraduate programme

Welcome to the Youth Incorporated, Education Times and Rediff.com Global University Rankings 2014. Continuing with our annual rankings for the best global universities, we have conducted extensive research work spanning several months to sort through voluminous raw data and bring out a finished analysis that is practical and can be instrumental in the selection process for those looking to enrol in the best programmes around the world.
We contacted 1,300 institutes to gauge their responses to unbiased questions that would help us evaluate the quality of the educational experience they provide. We also accumulated responses from the current students of the universities. In addition, we procured information from over 8,000 Media Partner recruiters that have previously recruited graduates from the institutes considered in the surveys. Once the data was accumulated, we broke down the information by placing emphasis on the most important criteria a student considers when enrolling in an institute. Factors such as value for money, student and recruiter satisfaction, infrastructure and facilities, teaching methodologies and much more were considered to rank the institutes.
This painstaking method was used to bring out the ranking of the top 100 universities worldwide. We were also able to provide rankings based on regional distribution and streams of study. Finally, the ranking for this year was placed against our previously conducted annual rankings to determine the performance of the institutes over the years.

TOP 100 UNIVERSITIES

RANK	INSTITUTION	COUNTRY	SCORE	2013 RANK	2012 RANK
1	Harvard University	USA	100	1	1
2	Stanford University	USA	99.9	2	2
3	University of Pennsylvania	USA	99.8	3	7
4	University of Oxford	UK	99.4	5	4
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA	99.3	4	3
6	University of Chicago	USA	99.2	6	5
7	Yale University	USA	99.1	7	6
8	Cornell University	USA	99	10	10
9	Columbia University	USA	98.5	8	8
10	Princeton University	USA	98.3	9	11
11	California Institute of Technology	USA	98	12	12
12	Imperial College London	UK	97	13	9
13	London School of Economics	UK	96.8	16	20
14	University of Cambridge	UK	96.3	11	18
15	University of Tokyo	JAPAN	96	17	17
16	Brown University	USA	95.7	14	24
17	University of Waterloo	Canada	95.4	15	–
18	University of California Los Angeles	USA	95.3	21	23
19	Carnegie Mellon University	USA	95	22	22
20	University of Michigan Ann Arbor	USA	94	20	15
21	New York University	USA	93.4	23	25
22	University of Melbourne	Australia	93.2	24	19
23	National University Singapore	Singapore	91.1	26	29
24	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	INDIA	93	19	31
25	IE University	Spain	92.8	29	37
26	École Normale Supérieure	France	92.6	25	21
27	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	INDIA	92.4	27	–
28	Northwestern University	USA	92.1	18	14
29	Hong Kong University of Science & Tech	China	92	33	35
30	University of California Berkeley	USA	91.8	31	30
31	Chinese University of Hong Kong	China	91.3	30	27
32	Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München	Germany	91	32	32
33	Duke University	USA	90.7	28	28
34	Dartmouth College	USA	90.5	38	41
35	Johns Hopkins University	USA	90.2	34	34
36	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Switzerland	90.1	36	36
37	University College London	UK	90	37	26
38	Emory University	USA	89.6	35	33
39	Universidade de São Paulo	Brazil	89.1	41	47
40	University of Texas at Austin	USA	88.4	45	45
41	University of Virginia	USA	88.1	39	43
42	University of Zürich	Switzerland	87.7	42	39
43	Kings College London	UK	87.5	43	40
44	Rice University	USA	87.2	44	44
45	University of Copenhagen	Denmark	87	40	38
46	University of British Columbia	Canada	86.4	46	42
47	Technische Universität München	Germany	86.1	50	53
48	Peking University	China	85.7	47	52
49	University of Helsinki	Finland	85.3	51	51
50	HEC	France	85	53	55
51	University of Sydney	Australia	84	52	46
52	Universität Heidelberg	Germany	83	49	50
53	Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile	Chile	82.4	48	48
54	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore	85	56	61
55	Universidad de Buenos Aires	Argentina	81	55	56
56	Fudan University	China	80	57	69
57	University of Southern California	USA	79.8	61	57
58	Australian National University	Australia	79.5	58	58
59	Tokyo Institute of Technology	JAPAN	79.2	59	66
60	Seoul National University	Korea	79	60	60
61	University of Warwick	UK	78	62	75
62	Vanderbilt University	USA	77	54	49
63	University of Auckland	New Zealand	76	72	76
64	University of Wisconsin Madison	USA	75	63	62
65	Monash University	Australia	74	65	67
66	University of Birmingham	UK	73.1	66	–
67	Erasmus University Rotterdam	Netherlands	72.5	67	70
68	École Polytechnique	France	72	64	71
69	University of New South Wales	Australia	71	69	59
70	University of Edinburgh	UK	70	70	64
71	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill	USA	69	71	65
72	Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México	Mexico	68	68	68
73	Paris Dauphine University	France	67	85	85
74	Tsinghua University	China	66.7	74	72
75	University of Surrey	UK	66.2	84	–
76	University of Queensland	Australia	66	77	77
77	Georgia Institute of Technology	USA	65	76	82
78	Tohoku University	JAPAN	64	73	73
79	National Taiwan University	Taiwan	63	78	78
80	Uppsala University	Sweden	62	75	74
81	University of Rochester	USA	61.8	80	84
82	University of Groningen	Netherlands	61.4	81	80
83	University of Bern	Switzerland	61	82	81
84	University of Adelaide	Australia	60.9	83	83
85	Ecole Centrale de Paris	France	60.5	86	88
86	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur	INDIA	60.2	79
87	University of York	UK	60	91	94
88	Ramon Llul University/ESADE	Spain	59	NEW	–
89	University of Washington	USA	58	89	89
90	University of Sciences Philadephia	USA	57	95	–
91	Purdue University	USA	56.7	96	92
92	Washington University St.Louis	USA	56.2	92	87
93	University of Pittsburg Bradford	USA	56	93	–
94	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	55	90	86
95	Stockholm University	Sweden	54	87	91
96	Heriot-Watt University	UK	53	97	–
97	University of Delhi	INDIA	52	99	–
98	Bradley University	USA	51.5	98
99	Grenoble Ecole de Management	France	51	100	–
100	University of Hawaii Hilo	USA	50	NEW	–

 

By sifting through information collected from students, faculty and recruiters of 1,300 institutes across the world, Youth Inc gives you a ranking of the top 100 institutes in the world

HOW HAVE THE INSTITUTES FARED COMPARED TO 2012 AND 2013?

Placing the 2014 top 100 ranking against those we conducted in 2012 and 2013, a comparison of the performance of the institutes over the years is clearly visible. Harvard University has retained its pole position at the top of the rankings with a perfect score that it managed to attain in the previous years as well. Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania rank second and third respectively with near perfect scores as well. The top 10 of last year have managed to stay in the top of the table with a few universities improving on their previous rank and a few dropping by a rank or two. The top 10 continues to be dominated by American institutes with the only exception being University of Oxford which has moved up to rank 4. When set against the surveys of the previous years, most universities in the top 100 seem to have a consistent performance with a similar ranking over the years.

THE INDIA STORY

The four Indian institutes that appear in the ranking this year are the same institutes that figured last year as well. The only difference is how much they’ve slipped in their scores and ranks. This disconcerting outcome notwithstanding,  we again question why no institutes other than the IITs (save for University of Delhi) are comparable to international universities. We were hopeful last year about educational reforms in the country, but it seems in one year the reforms have had no effect on India’s higher education institutes.
As recently as three years ago, the government’s favourite phrase was ‘knowledge economy’ – build an economy on the foundations of world class education. This plan seems to have gone pear-shaped. According to UNESCO’s 11th Education For All Global Monitoring Report, which was released in the last week of January and reported by Hindustan Times, 90% of children from poor families remain illiterate despite completing four years of school education. At a higher level, if the National Skill Report 2014 (prepared by the CII, PeopleStrong and Wheebox) is anything to go by, about 70% of the graduates produced by Indian institutes are unemployable.
Contrary to what the government’s spin doctors would like us to believe, the standard of higher education in India is sliding. Perhaps to salvage what is left of it, the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), has developed a road map for improving the state of education in the country. Vision 2030, as written about by T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of the FICCI Higher Education Committee, envisions that by the year 2030 “50% of our youth would be in the higher education system, at least 23 Indian universities would be among the global top 200 and 6 Indian intellectuals would have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Our country would be among top 5 countries globally in cited research output, its research capabilities boosted by annual R&D spends totalling over $140 billion.”
This is a lofty aim indeed, but it cannot be achieved without the government’s participation. And here’s hoping their participation is more than just some ‘reforms’ that see no results.

BEST REGIONAL UNIVESITIES 2014

Top US Universities

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Stanford University	USA
3	University of Pennsylvania	USA
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
5	University of Chicago	USA
6	Yale University	USA
7	Cornell University	USA
8	Columbia University	USA
9	Princeton University	USA
10	California Institute of Technology	USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Australian Universities

Rank	Institution	Country
1	University of Melbourne	Australia
2	University of Sydney	Australia
3	Australian National University	Australia
4	Monash University	Australia
5	University of New South Wales	Australia
6	University of Queensland	Australia
7	University of Adelaide	Australia

 

Top European Universities

Rank	Institution	Country
1	University of Oxford	UK
2	Imperial College London	UK
3	London School of Economics	UK
4	University of Cambridge	UK
5	IE University	Spain
6	École Normale Supérieure	France
7	Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München	Germany
8	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Switzerland
9	University College London	UK
10	University of Zürich	Switzerland

 

Top Asian Universities

Rank	Institution	Country
1	University of Tokyo	Japan
2	National University Singapore	Singapore
3	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	India
4	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	India
5	Hong Kong University of Science & Technology	China
6	Chinese University of Hong Kong	China
7	Peking University	China
8	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore
9	Fudan University	China
10	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Japan

 

TOP UNIVERSITIES IN DIFFERENT STREAMS

LIFE SCIENCES & MEDICINE

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Johns Hopkins University	USA
3	University of Cambridge	UK
4	Stanford University	USA
5	Yale University	USA
6	University of Oxford	UK
7	Imperial College London	UK
8	Cornell University	USA
9	University of California Berkeley	USA
10	University of Waterloo	Canada

 

PURE SCIENCES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Stanford University	USA
3	University of Cambridge	UK
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
5	Princeton University	USA
6	University of Oxford	UK
7	National University Singapore	Singapore
8	Cornell University	USA
9	Yale University	USA
10	University of Tokyo	Japan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART & HUMANITIES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Stanford University	USA
3	University of Cambridge	UK
4	Princeton University	USA
5	Yale University	USA
6	University of Oxford	UK
7	National University Singapore	Singapore
8	Columbia University	USA
9	University of Tokyo	Japan
10	University of Waterloo	Canada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS PROGRAMMES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Stanford University	USA
2	Harvard University	USA
3	National University Singapore	Singapore
4	University of Oxford	UK
5	IE University	Spain
6	Columbia University	USA
7	London School of Economics	UK
8	University of Cambridge	UK
9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
10	University of Michigan Ann Arbor	USA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ENGINEERING PROGRAMMES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	California Institute of Technology	USA
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
3	Imperial College London	UK
4	Stanford University	USA
5	National University Singapore	Singapore
6	University of Oxford	UK
7	Cornell University	USA
8	Columbia University	USA
9	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	India
10	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	India

 

WHAT STUDENTS WANT

While conducting the analysis of the best universities in the world, we ranked them according to the individual factors students consider to be a bench mark of a prestigious university. Here are the ratings according to the responses of  current students of the institutes

Overall, I am very satisfied with my institute

 

 

 

 

 

STUDENT SATISFACTION

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Cornell University	USA
2	Stanford University	USA
3	Harvard University	USA
4	Brown University	USA
5	University of Pennsylvania	USA
6	University of Oxford	UK
7	École Normale Supérieure	France
8	IE University	Spain
9	Princeton University	USA
10	Columbia University	USA

 

I applied for and received a good scholarship to attend my institution

 

 

 

 

 

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	India
2	Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	India
3	National University Singapore	Singapore
4	Yale University	USA
5	Hong Kong University of Science & Technology	China
6	Universität Heidelberg	Germany
7	Cornell University	USA
8	University of Tokyo	Japan
9	Columbia University	USA
10	IE University	Spain

 

Most teaching faculty often use innovative ways to teach subjects

 

 

 

 

 

INNOVATION IN TEACHING METHODOLOGIES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Stanford University	USA
2	Harvard University	USA
3	Northwestern University	USA
4	Princeton University	USA
5	Brown University	USA
6	Dartmouth College	USA
7	Columbia University	USA
8	École Normale Supérieure	France
9	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	Germany
10	New York University	USA

 

My institution provides very good campus support including housing

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPUS FACILITIES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Columbia University	USA
3	Cornell University	USA
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
5	Princeton University	USA
6	University of Cambridge	UK
7	California Institute of Technology	USA
8	Oxford University	UK
9	University of Chicago	USA
10	Dartmouth College	USA

 

My institution has a career service cell and is well known with recruiters

 

 

 

 

 

CAREER SERVICES

Rank	Institution	Country
1	Harvard University	USA
2	Stanford University	USA
3	University of Pennsylvania	USA
4	Cornell University	USA
5	Indian Institute of Technology Bombay	India
6	Columbia University	USA
7	Carnegie Mellon University	USA
8	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	USA
9	University of California Berkeley	USA
10	Dartmouth College	USA

 

My institution encourages me to participate in extracurricular activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My institution has many exchange programmes with other institutions and I have taken or will take part in such exchange programmes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is sufficient international diversity in my class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The programmes taught in my institute are innovative and include company vists

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My institution encourages real life learning and helps organise internships with companies

 

 

 

 

 

RECRUITER SATISFACTION

Rank	Institution	Country
1	University of Pennsylvania	USA
2	Harvard University	USA
3	tanford University	USA
4	Carnegie Mellon University	USA
5	Brown University	USA
6	ndian Institute of Technology Bombay	India
7	Hong Kong University of Science & Technology	China
8	New York University	USA
9	National University Singapore	Singapore
10	IE University	Spain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY RANKING

Youth Inc’s Research Unit (YRU) tabulated the extensive data collected from institutes, students and recruiters, and analysed it to find the best institutes around the world

We chose institutes across the world after having discussions with thousands of students, recruiters and faculty. Youth Inc’s Research Unit (YRU) also studied domestic rankings in various countries to find the best institutes.
We sent survey links to 1,300 institutes and provided them with unique codes so that they could submit their responses online. Institutes were also provided links to online surveys where their current students were asked to rate specific statements that pertained to the factors considered in this ranking. Institutes also sent separate survey links to their recruiters who in turn rated the institute’s career management cell as well as student employability.
Over 8,000 additional recruiters were sent emails with a survey link. The recruiter list was prepared from the responses of the institutes and also included internationally well-known recruiters.
Below are the factors we considered and the overall weightage assigned to them:
* Careers, recruitment and industry viability of students – 55%
* Diversity and international outlook – 10%
* Innovation – 10%
* Campus, extracurricular activities, exchange programmes – 15%
* Money, student satisfaction – 10%

CAREERS, RECRUITMENT AND INDUSTRY VIABILITY OF STUDENTS – 55%
This category significantly impacts the overall score of an institute since it is the most weighted factor. One of the most important criteria to select institutes is the student’s industry viability after graduation. Recruiters were asked to list and rate the institutes that they were most likely to recruit from. They were asked the likelihood of recruiting again from the same institute and their satisfaction with the institute’s career cell. Recruiters rated students on various factors including analytical and problem solving skills, leadership potential, communication and interpersonal skills and so on. Institutes and students were also asked about the availability and functioning of a career service cell on campus and how active such a service was. We also considered what percentage of students were actually placed, both domestically and internationally, through the institute’s career service cell. Students reported the availability and ease of obtaining internships.

DIVERSITY AND INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK – 10%
This category looks not only at diversity of faculty but also at diversity of students in class. The international outlook includes international students that are attracted and retained by the institute. Institutes were asked to report the total number of students on campus and what percentage of the students were international and speak two or more languages. Gender diversity of the students was considered. Institutes also reported the percentage of the faculty that were international, hold a doctorate degree and accredited with their own publishing material along with the gender diversity of the faculty. Students were asked to rate the student and faculty diversity in their class.

 

 

INNOVATION – 10%
This category looks at the innovation used to construct and teach programmes and how faculty engage the students; an important factor in the overall  perception of an institute. We considered the different ways in which an institute constructs programmes. Institutes were asked to select from a list different teaching methodologies that we considered innovative – some of these included company visits, dual or multiple majors and course collaborations between different departments at the institute. Our list was made after surveying students across different campuses worldwide.  Students were asked to report how satisfied they are with faculty who use innovative ways to teach subjects.

CAMPUS, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES – 15%
This category considers the support students receive on campus and the availability of extracurricular activities. The exchange programmes offered by the institute and how actively students are encouraged to opt for such programmes was also considered. We asked the institutes to select the different types of assistance provided by the student office or a similar body on campus. Our initial list was selected after surveying students across different campuses worldwide. Students reported if they were encouraged by the institute to participate in different extracurricular activities on campus.  Institutes were asked to report the percentage of students that opted for exchange programs. We also considered the exchange students present on the institute’s campus.

 

 

 

 

MONEY, STUDENT SATISFACTION – 10%
This category takes into account a critical part of college education today – finances. And more importantly, how satisfied a student is with the institute. We considered students’ opinions on whether a particular institute was perceived as ‘value for money’. We also asked institutes to state the percentage of students who received some sort of funding from the institutes. Students were asked to rate their institutes on various factors including attitude of staff and professors, location, course content and so on and institutes were asked to report the graduation rate of students enrolled and what percentage of students transfer out of the institution.

SCORES
We calculated the standard deviation and standard scores (Z scores) so that we could combine and analyse the data with more accuracy and reliability. Below is a summary of the factors and the weightage given to each factor when we ranked the institutes. Each factor was made up of a set of questions. The total percentage attributed to that factor was based on the average score of the responses multiplied by the assigned weightage. The total scores were then sorted from highest to lowest. The institute with the highest score was ranked first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOT JUST NUMBERS
After we calculated the total computed scores for the institutes, we subjectively analysed the data provided by the institutes, current students, and recruiters. If we found discrepancies in the satisfaction scores and the subjective descriptions, we omitted the data. This happened in the case of three institutes.

MISSING DATA
In a few rare occasions, some institutes did not supply data for all the questions in the survey. When data was missing which affected low-weighted factors such as value for money or campus support, we entered an estimate between the average and the lowest value reported by the institute. By following such a practice we did not excessively penalise an institution with a ‘zero’ for data that it could not provide. At the same time, the institute was not rewarded.

EXCLUSION OF INSTITUTES
We required that at least 20% of the class size (of any specific institute) answer the student survey. Hence, some institutes were disqualified from our ranking because of lack of responses to the student survey.

INSTITUTES THAT DID NOT FILL OUT THE SURVEY REPORTS IN TIME
Out of 1,300 institutes that were contacted, 19% of the institutes did not complete the survey on time or did not respond. We used publicly available information on some of these institutes to include them in our ranking. We also contacted current students and recruiters of these institutes and compared the data we received with the data from institutes that participated in our survey.