This year’s ranking of the world’s top 1,000 universities sees relatively little movement at the very top. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University and Harvard University are an unchanged top three, while the University of Oxford continues to be the best university in the UK.

However, outside of this good performance there are worrying signs for both the United States and the UK. The majority of universities from both the US and UK have fallen in rank this year. In most cases, this is because of a weaker score for international student ratio, one of the indicators used to compile the ranking (learn about the methodology here).

Whether the impact of Donald Trump and Brexit is beginning to be felt or other factors are at play is unclear. However, it may not be long before other universities begin to overtake the traditional heavyweights from the UK and US.

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Explore the QS World University Rankings 2021