CWUR: World University Rankings 2020-21

Source: The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR)

The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) publishes the only global university ranking that measures the quality of education and training of students as well as the prestige of the faculty members and the quality of their research without relying on surveys and university data submissions.

CWUR uses seven objective and robust indicators to rank the world’s universities:

1) Quality of Education, measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have won major academic distinctions relative to the university’s size (25%)
2) Alumni Employment, measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have held top executive positions at the world’s largest companies relative to the university’s size (25%)
3) Quality of Faculty, measured by the number of faculty members who have won major academic distinctions (10%)
4) Research Performance:
i) Research Output, measured by the the total number of research papers (10%)
ii) High-Quality Publications, measured by the number of research papers appearing in top-tier journals (10%)
iii) Influence, measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals (10%)
iv) Citations, measured by the number of highly-cited research papers (10%)

For the ninth year in a row Harvard has been ranked as the top global university by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR). This year, the global top-10 is as follows (with last year’s rankings in parentheses):

  1. Harvard University (1)
  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2)
  3. Stanford University (3)
  4. University of Cambridge (4)
  5. University of Oxford (5)
  6. Columbia University (6)
  7. Princeton University (7)
  8. University of Pennsylvania (9)
  9. University of Chicago (10)
  10. Yale University (12)
    CWUR grades universities on seven factors without relying on surveys and university data submissions: quality of teaching, alumni employment, quality of faculty, research output, high-quality publications, influence, and citations.

The US has eight representatives in the top-10, which has been the case since the rankings started in 2012, and is the most represented country in the top 2000 with 357 universities, including three from Puerto Rico. All Ivy League institutions feature in the top 60 this year. In China, the number of universities in the top 2000 is 267 – with 258 from mainland China, 7 from Hong Kong, and 2 from Macau. While Peking and Tsinghua declined slightly, the rest of the C9 League saw improvements this year. Japan, led by the University of Tokyo in 14th place, has 126 top-2000 institutions.

The University of Cambridge leaps for the first time to top spot globally in quality of education, and ranks as the top public university in the world for the 6th year in a row. The number of UK institutions in the top 2000 this year is 95. France, led by PSL University at number 21, has 82 representatives in the top 2000.

46 institutions from Russia, led by Moscow State University at number 193, feature in the top 2000. Elsewhere, the University of Melbourne ranks first in Oceania, the University of São Paulo tops Latin America, and the University of Cape Town ranks highest in Africa.

About the Center for World University Rankings: The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) is a leading consulting organization providing policy advice, strategic insights, and consulting services to governments and universities to improve educational and research outcomes. CWUR publishes authoritative global university rankings, known for objectivity, transparency, and consistency, which are trusted by students, academics, university administrators, and governments from around the world.

For more information or interviews, please contact The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).
Edit: The World Education News(WEN)