Where in the World Are the Best Global Universities?
The best universities in the world are scattered in cities across the globe, from Stockholm to Beijing to Chicago; on four continents; and in 14 countries including Singapore, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
This week, U.S. News released the 2021 edition of its Best Global Universities rankings, which evaluate schools based on their academic research and reputation and allow students to compare them globally, regionally and within specific countries. Twenty-nine of the top 50 universities are in North America, 13 in Europe, four in Asia and four in Australia/New Zealand.
Most of the top-ranked colleges in North America are located in the U.S., including Harvard University in Massachusetts, ranked No. 1; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ranked No. 2; and Stanford University in California, ranked No. 3. Two are located in Canada: the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.
[Read: Harvard Tops 2021 U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings.]
This year, however, more of the top 50 Best Global Universities are located outside of North America than in the previous edition of the rankings. The institutions in Europe that made the cut are spread across eight countries. In the U.K., six institutions appear in the top 50, with the University of Oxford, ranked No. 5, leading the way. The other countries in Europe with universities ranked in the top 50 are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.
In Asia, two universities in Singapore, one in China and one in Saudi Arabia are included in the top 50. In Australia/New Zealand, four are located in Australia.
Four universities are new this year to the top 50: the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, Karolinska Institute in Sweden, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and Monash University in Australia.
Unsurprisingly, many of the Best Global Universities are located in major metropolitan cities, like Sorbonne Universite in Paris and University College London. Others are located in cities with smaller populations of less than 150,000, like Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor.
Many of these institutions are also ranked among the best universities in their region. The University of Melbourne, for example, is ranked No. 1 in Australia/New Zealand and No. 25 overall, and Tsinghua University in Beijing is ranked No. 1 in Asia and No. 28 overall.
See the complete rankings of the Best Global Universities.
