By Gavin Mackintosh-
Oxford University has been named the best university in the world for the seventh year running, with London’s Imperial College also making it into the top ten.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, published today, rate 1,799 institutions from 104 countries. The top 10 is dominated by universities solely from the UK and US, with Cambridge in third place and Imperial in 10th. Harvard came second. University College London was 22nd, King’s College London 35th and LSE 37th.
The University of Oxford has an outstanding global reputation for its teaching, research and contributions to society.
The University of Oxford provides nearly 250 different courses from over 30 faculties across its four divisions of Humanities, Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences. Oxford’s academic staff are globally renowned, with 80 Fellows of the Royal Society and 100 Fellows of the British Academy.
Oxford university boasts high standards of tutorial. At least once a week in each subject studied, groups of two or three students will spend an hour with their tutor, discussing a topic in depth. This enables students to discuss ideas and theories in a more relaxed and informal setting.
Phil Baty from Times Higher Education said although Western universities still dominate the top rankings, East Asia and the Middle East are gaining ground. The number of US universities in the top 100 fell from 43 in 2018 to 34 this year, but the number of Chinese universities rose from two in 2018 to seven now.
Mr Baty said: “The world rankings, overall, are much more inclusive, covering 104 countries and regions this year, compared to just 70 in 2016.
“I think this shift – a global levelling up – is good news for the world. A rising tide is lifting all boats. Access to top quality education is opening up globally and helping to diminish the brain drain from developing countries…We are also seeing more global diversity in creativity and innovation as well as more equal international collaboration.
“This should be great news for the sector as universities lead on the new ideas and breakthroughs needed to solve some of the world’s biggest shared challenges, like climate change and future pandemics.”
Research
Researchers rated each university after analysing its research publications, its academic reputation, teaching environment, international outlook and industry links.
Mr Baty added: “The data is very clear. We are seeing a real shift in the balance of power in the global knowledge economy, away from the traditionally dominant western world. While the US and UK remain dominant in terms of their representation at the very top of the rankings, their relative power is waning.
“Mainland China leads a strengthening in East Asia, taking more and more of the top 200 places, and the Middle East is seeing a real renaissance in higher education, with Saudi Arabia in particular making major gains, and the United Arab Emirates also strengthening.”
In today’s league table University College London was ranked 22nd in the world, King’s College London was 35th and LSE 37th.
Other UK universities in the top 100 were Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow.
Other universities that made it into the top 130 from the UK were Warwick, Birmingham, Southampton, Sheffield, Lancaster, Queen Mary’s University of London, Leeds and Nottingham.