Students around the globe are increasingly likely to study outside of their own country.
The number of students studying abroad rose from 800,000 in 1975 to 4.5 million in 2012, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “It’s been doubling once a decade,” says Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president at the Institute of International Education. “There are projections it will go up to 8 million in another 10 years.”
As more students contemplate studying overseas, they are seeking the best global colleges and universities to fit their needs. To help students compare universities around the world, U.S. News has launched its inaugural Best Global Universities rankings.
The overall 2015 U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings encompass the top 500 institutions spread out across 49 countries. In addition, the rankings include region-specific lists — of the top universities in Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand and Latin America — and country-specific lists highlighting the top schools in 11 countries with a large number of ranked schools: Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The rankings also feature the top 100 global universities in 21 subject areas, including fields such as economics and business, engineering, computer science, and social sciences and public health.
To allow for accurate cross-border comparisons, these new U.S. News rankings — based on data and metrics provided by Thomson Reuters InCites TM research analytics solutions — focus specifically on institutions’ academic research and reputation overall and not their separate undergraduate or graduate programs. Universities were judged on factors such as global research reputation, publications and number of highly cited papers, making these rankings very different from the U.S. News Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools rankings of U.S. programs.
Learn how the [Best Global Universities rankings were calculated.]
Among the top 500 global universities, the top 10 are all based in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The U.S. state of Massachusetts is home to the top two schools in the world. Harvard University, founded in 1636 and the oldest university in the U.S., is the highest ranked on the list, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded in 1861.
Of the 49 countries represented in the top 500 rankings, the U.S. has the most institutions, with 134 universities on the list. The U.S. is followed by Germany, with 42 schools included, and the United Kingdom, with 38 schools that qualified. China also makes a strong showing, with 27 schools among the top 500.
The methodology for the four regional rankings is based solely on how schools performed in the overall Best Global Universities rankings. In Europe, the top two institutions are among Britain’s oldest and most well-respected colleges. The University of Oxford, which traces its beginnings back to 1096 and is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, earned first place in the region’s rankings. The University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, ranked No. 2.
Within Asia, Japan’s University of Tokyo is the highest ranked in the region, followed by China’s Peking University, located in the country’s capital of Beijing. In Latin America, Brazil’s Universidade de São Paulo takes the top spot. The country, boasting the largest higher education system in Latin America, is home to the top three schools in the region. The University of Melbourne, located on Australia’s Southeast coast, is the highest-ranked institution in Australia/New Zealand.
Explore photos of the [top 20 Best Global Universities.]
The Best Global Universities subject rankings, based on a different methodology that relied on academic research and reputation in a specific subject, can be used to find the academic leaders in certain fields. They are not, however, rankings of academic majors, departments or specific schools at universities, such as business schools or medical schools — meaning a university could be ranked highly for economics and business but not have a separate business school.
Among the 21 subjects, Harvard, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Canada’s University of Toronto appear in each list, indicating their research excellence across different fields of study.
While universities in North America and Europe tend to have the highest ranks in each subject, other regions also fare well in some fields. Universities in Asia, for instance, make a strong showing in the top five of agricultural sciences, engineering, materials science and physics.
In regions that aren’t as heavily represented at the top of the subject rankings, there are still some standout schools in specific fields. Brazil’s Universidade de São Paulo is ranked No. 5 in agricultural sciences, for example, while University of Queensland Australia is ranked No. 8 in environment/ecology.
Calculate the cost of earning [a degree abroad as a U.S. student.]
While students can get a great education at top universities around the world, traditionally, most students have chosen the U.S. for their studies abroad, according to data reported to the Institute of International Education’s Project Atlas, which tracks international student migration trends. The United Kingdom has been the second most popular choice, followed more recently by China, France and Germany.
“Students will go abroad for degree study when they feel that a foreign degree will enhance their career success, or when the quality of education they seek is not available at home,” says IIE’s Blumenthal.
See the complete rankings of the Best Global Universities.
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U.S. News Releases Inaugural Best Global Universities Rankings originally appeared on usnews.com
