Posted June 18, 2009
U.S. News & World Report's World's Best Colleges and Universities rankings based on the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings identified these to be the world's top universities in 2008.
Rank Overall Score
1 Harvard University United States 100.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 96 International Faculty Score 87 International Students Score 81 Citations per Faculty Score 100
2 Yale University United States 99.8
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 89 International Students Score 71 Citations per Faculty Score 98
3 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 99.5
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 99 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 95 Citations per Faculty Score 89
4 University of Oxford United Kingdom 98.9
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 96 International Students Score 96 Citations per Faculty Score 85
5 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States 98.6
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 74 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 100
6 Imperial College London United Kingdom 98.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 83
7 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom 98.1
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 96 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 89
8 University of Chicago United States 98.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 78 International Students Score 83 Citations per Faculty Score 91
9 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) United States 96.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 90 International Faculty Score 33 International Students Score 94 Citations per Faculty Score 100
10 Columbia University United States 96.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 29 International Students Score 89 Citations per Faculty Score 94
11 University of Pennsylvania United States 96.1
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 88 International Faculty Score 83 International Students Score 79 Citations per Faculty Score 99
12 Princeton University United States 95.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 75 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 82 Citations per Faculty Score 100
13 Duke University United States 94.4
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 66 Citations per Faculty Score 94
13 Johns Hopkins University United States 94.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 78 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 68 Citations per Faculty Score 100
15 Cornell University United States 94.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 90 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 76 Citations per Faculty Score 96
16 Australian National University Australia 92.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 91 Citations per Faculty Score 74
17 Stanford University United States 91.2
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 67 International Faculty Score 26 International Students Score 87 Citations per Faculty Score 100
18 University of Michigan United States 91.0
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 85 International Faculty Score 59 International Students Score 51 Citations per Faculty Score 84
19 University of Tokyo Japan 90.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 98 International Faculty Score 27 International Students Score 40 Citations per Faculty Score 78
20 Mcgill University Canada 89.7
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 99 International Faculty Score 62 International Students Score 95 Citations per Faculty Score 51
21 Carnegie Mellon University United States 89.6
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 50 International Students Score 97 Citations per Faculty Score 79
22 King'S College London United Kingdom 89.5
Academic Peer Review Score 93 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 89 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 85 Citations per Faculty Score 70
23 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom 89.3
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 82 Citations per Faculty Score 70
24 Eth Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland 89.1
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 82 Student to Faculty Score 56 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 94 Citations per Faculty Score 99
25 Kyoto University Japan 87.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 87 Student to Faculty Score 80 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 26 Citations per Faculty Score 91
26 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 87.1
Academic Peer Review Score 94 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 86 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 92 Citations per Faculty Score 59
27 Brown University United States 85.2
Academic Peer Review Score 92 Employer Review Score 83 Student to Faculty Score 64 International Faculty Score 56 International Students Score 58 Citations per Faculty Score 99
28 École Normale Supérieure, Paris France 84.8
Academic Peer Review Score 93 Employer Review Score 72 Student to Faculty Score 68 International Faculty Score 29 International Students Score 69 Citations per Faculty Score 99
29 University of Manchester United Kingdom 84.4
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 91 International Students Score 84 Citations per Faculty Score 56
30 National University of SINGAPORE(NUS) Singapore 84.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 39 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 75
30 University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States 84.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 48 International Faculty Score 23 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 100
32 University of Bristol United Kingdom 84.1
Academic Peer Review Score 83 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 82 International Faculty Score 85 International Students Score 74 Citations per Faculty Score 74
33 Northwestern University United States 83.3
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 78 International Faculty Score 30 International Students Score 61 Citations per Faculty Score 82
34 École Polytechnique France 83.0
Academic Peer Review Score 80 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 62 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 58
34 University of British Columbia Canada 83.0
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 69 International Faculty Score 33 International Students Score 61 Citations per Faculty Score 67
36 University of California, Berkeley United States 82.9
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 24 International Faculty Score 88 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 100
37 The University of Sydney Australia 82.4
Academic Peer Review Score 99 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 55 International Faculty Score 97 International Students Score 93 Citations per Faculty Score 54
38 The University of Melbourne Australia 82.3
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 59 International Faculty Score 54 International Students Score 96 Citations per Faculty Score 56
39 Hong Kong University of Science & Technology Hong Kong 81.4
Academic Peer Review Score 86 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 60 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 97 Citations per Faculty Score 72
40 New York University (NYU) United States 81.3
Academic Peer Review Score 96 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 83 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 56 Citations per Faculty Score 54
41 University of Toronto Canada 81.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 18 International Faculty Score 80 International Students Score 46 Citations per Faculty Score 100
42 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 81.0
Academic Peer Review Score 85 Employer Review Score 84 Student to Faculty Score 80 International Faculty Score 98 International Students Score 86 Citations per Faculty Score 57
43 University of Queensland Australia 80.7
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 49 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 78 Citations per Faculty Score 63
44 Osaka University Japan 80.1
Academic Peer Review Score 90 Employer Review Score 69 Student to Faculty Score 93 International Faculty Score 25 International Students Score 28 Citations per Faculty Score 70
45 University of New South Wales Australia 79.8
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 35 International Faculty Score 83 International Students Score 91 Citations per Faculty Score 68
46 Boston University United States 79.1
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 85 Student to Faculty Score 66 International Faculty Score 26 International Students Score 59 Citations per Faculty Score 73
47 Monash University Australia 78.7
Academic Peer Review Score 98 Employer Review Score 99 Student to Faculty Score 52 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 99 Citations per Faculty Score 37
48 University of Copenhagen Denmark 78.5
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 59 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 67 International Students Score 69 Citations per Faculty Score 45
49 Trinity College Dublin Ireland 78.2
Academic Peer Review Score 90 Employer Review Score 96 Student to Faculty Score 68 International Faculty Score 99 International Students Score 76 Citations per Faculty Score 70
50 Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland 78.1
Academic Peer Review Score 63 Employer Review Score 71 Student to Faculty Score 93 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 77
50 Peking University China 78.1
Academic Peer Review Score 100 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 84 International Faculty Score 27 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 34
50 Seoul National University Korea, South 78.1
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 65 Student to Faculty Score 87 International Faculty Score 23 International Students Score 37 Citations per Faculty Score 54
53 University of Amsterdam Netherlands 78.0
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 77 Student to Faculty Score 80 International Faculty Score 73 International Students Score 32 Citations per Faculty Score 61
54 Dartmouth College United States 77.8
Academic Peer Review Score 64 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 88 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 57 Citations per Faculty Score 95
55 University of WISCONSIN-Madison United States 77.7
Academic Peer Review Score 93 Employer Review Score 79 Student to Faculty Score 48 International Faculty Score 31 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 89
56 Tsinghua University China 77.0
Academic Peer Review Score 97 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 94 International Faculty Score 23 International Students Score 24 Citations per Faculty Score 31
57 Heidelberg Universität Germany 76.9
Academic Peer Review Score 87 Employer Review Score 59 Student to Faculty Score 81 International Faculty Score 54 International Students Score 81 Citations per Faculty Score 58
58 University of California, San Diego United States 76.3
Academic Peer Review Score 98 Employer Review Score 58 Student to Faculty Score 35 International Faculty Score 20 International Students Score 29 Citations per Faculty Score 100
59 University of Washington United States 75.8
Academic Peer Review Score 84 Employer Review Score 54 Student to Faculty Score 62 International Faculty Score 25 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 99
60 Washington University in St. Louis United States 75.7
Academic Peer Review Score 64 Employer Review Score 55 Student to Faculty Score 100 International Faculty Score 24 International Students Score 54 Citations per Faculty Score 95
61 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan 75.3
Academic Peer Review Score 77 Employer Review Score 76 Student to Faculty Score 70 International Faculty Score 25 International Students Score 45 Citations per Faculty Score 87
62 Emory University United States 75.0
Academic Peer Review Score 62 Employer Review Score 67 Student to Faculty Score 96 International Faculty Score 43 International Students Score 47 Citations per Faculty Score 91
63 Uppsala University Sweden 74.9
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 60 Student to Faculty Score 43 International Faculty Score 70 International Students Score 41 Citations per Faculty Score 85
64 Leiden University Netherlands 74.8
Academic Peer Review Score 87 Employer Review Score 61 Student to Faculty Score 35 International Faculty Score 74 International Students Score 41 Citations per Faculty Score 97
65 The University of Auckland New Zealand 74.5
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 36 International Faculty Score 94 International Students Score 99 Citations per Faculty Score 42
66 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom 74.2
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 59 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 26
67 Utrecht University Netherlands 74.0
Academic Peer Review Score 89 Employer Review Score 66 Student to Faculty Score 62 International Faculty Score 45 International Students Score 24 Citations per Faculty Score 72
68 University of Geneva Switzerland 73.9
Academic Peer Review Score 69 Employer Review Score 36 Student to Faculty Score 58 International Faculty Score 97 International Students Score 100 Citations per Faculty Score 98
69 University of Warwick United Kingdom 73.8
Academic Peer Review Score 83 Employer Review Score 100 Student to Faculty Score 60 International Faculty Score 92 International Students Score 97 Citations per Faculty Score 38
70 University of Texas at Austin United States 73.3
Academic Peer Review Score 95 Employer Review Score 95 Student to Faculty Score 26 International Faculty Score 60 International Students Score 43 Citations per Faculty Score 69
71 University of Illinois United States 73.2
Academic Peer Review Score 94 Employer Review Score 67 Student to Faculty Score 43 International Faculty Score 37 International Students Score 51 Citations per Faculty Score 72
72 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Belgium 73.1
Academic Peer Review Score 92 Employer Review Score 83 Student to Faculty Score 34 International Faculty Score 52 International Students Score 51 Citations per Faculty Score 72
73 University of Glasgow United Kingdom 73.0
Academic Peer Review Score 72 Employer Review Score 78 Student to Faculty Score 67 International Faculty Score 95 International Students Score 60 Citations per Faculty Score 69
74 University of Alberta Canada 72.9
Academic Peer Review Score 91 Employer Review Score 48 Student to Faculty Score 56 International Faculty Score 92 International Students Score 64 Citations per Faculty Score 55
75 University of Birmingham United Kingdom 72.3
Academic Peer Review Score 73 Employer Review Score 94 Student to Faculty Score 57 International Faculty Score 82 International Students Score 72 Citations per Faculty Score 65
76 University of Sheffield United Kingdom 72.2
Academic Peer Review Score 69 Employer Review Score 97 Student to Faculty Score 68 International Faculty Score 81 International Students Score 72 Citations per Faculty Score 60
77 Nanyang Technological University Singapore 72.1
Academic Peer Review Score 87 Employer Review Score 87 Student to Faculty Score 47 International Faculty Score 100 International Students Score 99 Citations per Faculty Score 38
78 Delft University of Technology Netherlands 71.8
Academic Peer Review Score 78 Employer Review Score 87 Student to Faculty Score 66 International Faculty Score 80 International Students Score 66 Citations per Faculty Score 49
78 Rice University United States 71.8
Academic Peer Review Score 62 Employer Review Score 55 Student to Faculty Score 76 International Faculty Score 42 International Students Score 73 Citations per Faculty Score 95
78 Technische Universität München Germany 71.8
Academic Peer Review Score 73 Employer Review Score 59 Student to Faculty Score 86 International Faculty Score 54 International Students Score 77 Citations per Faculty Score 57
81 University of Aarhus Denmark 71.5
Academic Peer Review Score 76 Employer Review Score 38 Student to Faculty Score 72 International Faculty Score 67 International Students Score 58 Citations per Faculty Score 74
81 University of York United Kingdom 71.5
Academic Peer Review Score 62 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 77 International Faculty Score 95 International Students Score 84 Citations per Faculty Score 57
83 Georgia Institute of Technology United States 71.3
Academic Peer Review Score 78 Employer Review Score 83 Student to Faculty Score 22 International Faculty Score 39 International Students Score 78 Citations per Faculty Score 99
83 The University of Western Australia Australia 71.3
Academic Peer Review Score 72 Employer Review Score 88 Student to Faculty Score 52 International Faculty Score 92 International Students Score 83 Citations per Faculty Score 65
83 University of St Andrews United Kingdom 71.3
Academic Peer Review Score 59 Employer Review Score 95 Student to Faculty Score 74 International Faculty Score 92 International Students Score 99 Citations per Faculty Score 62
86 University of Nottingham United Kingdom 71.0
Academic Peer Review Score 72 Employer Review Score 98 Student to Faculty Score 64 International Faculty Score 90 International Students Score 89 Citations per Faculty Score 46
87 University of Minnesota United States 70.2
Academic Peer Review Score 79 Employer Review Score 54 Student to Faculty Score 38 International Faculty Score 72 International Students Score 33 Citations per Faculty Score 94
88 Lund University Sweden 70.0
Academic Peer Review Score 82 Employer Review Score 68 Student to Faculty Score 45 International Faculty Score 68 International Students Score 52 Citations per Faculty Score 68
89 University of California, Davis United States 69.9
Academic Peer Review Score 84 Employer Review Score 46 Student to Faculty Score 42 International Faculty Score 28 International Students Score 26 Citations per Faculty Score 96
90 Case Western Reserve University United States 69.8
Academic Peer Review Score 60 Employer Review Score 42 Student to Faculty Score 95 International Faculty Score 21 International Students Score 51 Citations per Faculty Score 88
91 Université de Montréal Canada 69.6
Academic Peer Review Score 89 Employer Review Score 36 Student to Faculty Score 36 International Faculty Score 83 International Students Score 74 Citations per Faculty Score 70
91 University of Helsinki Finland 69.6
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 43 Student to Faculty Score 55 International Faculty Score 51 International Students Score 21 Citations per Faculty Score 71
93 Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel 69.5
Academic Peer Review Score 89 Employer Review Score 25 Student to Faculty Score 35 International Faculty Score 70 International Students Score 33 Citations per Faculty Score 89
93 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany 69.5
Academic Peer Review Score 84 Employer Review Score 45 Student to Faculty Score 69 International Faculty Score 51 International Students Score 70 Citations per Faculty Score 51
95 Kaist - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology Korea, South 69.3
Academic Peer Review Score 76 Employer Review Score 53 Student to Faculty Score 61 International Faculty Score 48 International Students Score 36 Citations per Faculty Score 79
96 University of Virginia United States 69.2
Academic Peer Review Score 66 Employer Review Score 93 Student to Faculty Score 61 International Faculty Score 24 International Students Score 38 Citations per Faculty Score 82
97 University of Pitt*****urgh United States 69.1
Academic Peer Review Score 62 Employer Review Score 40 Student to Faculty Score 95 International Faculty Score 42 International Students Score 34 Citations per Faculty Score 79
98 University of California, Santa Barbara United States 68.8
Academic Peer Review Score 88 Employer Review Score 50 Student to Faculty Score 21 International Faculty Score 39 International Students Score 22 Citations per Faculty Score 99
99 Purdue University United States 68.6
Academic Peer Review Score 85 Employer Review Score 82 Student to Faculty Score 34 International Faculty Score 60 International Students Score 57 Citations per Faculty Score 60
99 University of Southampton United Kingdom 68.6
Academic Peer Review Score 63 Employer Review Score 90 Student to Faculty Score 61 International Faculty Score 87 International Students Score 83 Citations per Faculty Score 61