Change in methodology used to rate institutions means only Cambridge University makes it into top five

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

British universities have slipped down the latest international rankings, with only Cambridge making it into the top five institutions in the world – taking joint third place in a list dominated by big American universities.

According to the QS World University Rankings, regarded as the most authoritative of its kind, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is once again named the best university in the world, with Harvard climbing to second place from fourth last year.

The UK still has four universities in the top 10 in the world. One of the biggest casualties, however, was London’s Imperial College, which in 2014 was ranked equal second with Cambridge but this year dropped to eighth position because of a change in the methodology used to rate universities.



Oxford University and University College London (UCL) have both slipped down the tables; having been ranked equal fifth last year, Oxford slipped to sixth and UCL to seventh. Kings College London, ranked 16th in 2014, has dropped three places to 19.



Stanford University in California comes in at joint third with Cambridge, climbing from seventh last year; the California Institute of Technology is fifth, with ETH Zurich (the Federal Swiss Institute of Technology) in ninth place and Chicago University in 10th.

UK winners include the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), which climbs from 71 to 35, a beneficiary of the changes to the QS methodology.

Top 200 universities in the world - the table Read more

Previously the QS rankings favoured universities strong in research, which is generated largely by the medical sciences, but changes have been made in order to give better recognition to institutions that are outstanding in arts and humanities but produce few citations.

As a result, Imperial, a leading research-intensive institution which produces an impressive array of citations every year, dropped six places despite performing well in every other respect.

Warwick University enters the world’s top 50 at 48, up from 61 last year; Durham moves up from 92 to 61, St Andrews is at 68 from 88 last year and Southampton takes 81st position, up from 94.



Two Singaporean universities make the top 15 for the first time; the National University of Singapore (12) is the top Asian institution with Nanyang Technological University at 13.

Ben Sowter, QS head of research said: “That the LSE is a world-class institution is not news. Indeed, they have been a firm fixture in the QS top 100 for over a decade, but in any ranking system that places emphasis on medicine and sciences, their strength in their areas of specialty are never likely to shine as brightly as they ought to.

“The QS methodology now evens the playing field and LSE climbs 36 places to be counted, rightfully, amongst the world’s top 40.”



John O’Leary, a member of the QS global advisory board, added: “The UK remains second only to the US as a higher education destination. The leading universities may have lost ground, but they still make up four of the top 10 in the world.

“Ironically, their strength in medicine and science has cost some of them because the new methodology rewards a more balanced portfolio, but it is good news for the likes of Durham and Warwick, as well as LSE.”

The US has 49 institutions in the top 200, ahead of the UK with 30, the Netherlands (12), Germany (11), Canada, Australia, and Japan (8) and China (7).

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London is the only city in the world with four universities in the top 50; Boston and New York have three and Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong and Beijing all have two.

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “London is unequivocally the education capital of the world. With four of our universities in the top 40, the city’s education sector is going from strength to strength, attracting the world’s top talent and producing the next generation of great thinkers and leaders.”

LSE’s director, Prof Craig Calhoun, said: “LSE’s latest global university ranking as the best social science institution in the UK and second best in the world is testament to both the school and London’s reputation as a world class centre for education.

“For 120 years, we have been located in the heart of London, providing outstanding teaching and research which focuses on real-world problems and helps shape government policy at the highest level.”