The 2015 list of the world’s best universities was recently published. There is no surprise! Like every other year, the ranking is dominated by a small number of countries led by the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. Along with the World University Ranking, the list of this year’s Best Student Cities was also announced. Although conducted by the same company, the two studies reveal different facts. Only one of the top 10 student cities for 2015 is present on the list of the 10 best higher education institutes.
Paris is the top city for students, according to the QS Best Student Cities 2015 list. The French capital is followed by Australia’s Melbourne and London at the second and third spots, respectively. Australia’s presence on this ranking is further strengthened by Sydney, which takes the 4th position this year. Canada is another top-performer with Montreal (8) and Toronto (9) seen in top 10.
However, only one of these cities is included in the World University Ranking for this year – London. In this second list, the capital of the United Kingdom is represented by the Imperial College of London and by UCL (University College London), which are ranked at the 3rd and the 6th positions, respectively. The other top higher education institutions on the list are mainly located in smaller cities, like Cambridge (Massachusetts), Oxford (UK), and Pasadena (California).
So what causes this discrepancy? The simplest explanation behind these interesting research results is the different focus of the two lists. This year’s list of best universities is based on the quality of education offered by the university and other factors like international student ratio, academic reputation and etc. The Best Student Cities ranking, on the other hand, is more focused on students experience than on the quality of the education. It examines desirability, affordability and employer activity that a city can offer to a student.
It seems that university students today, cannot have it all. If they want to study in some of today’s best universities, they will need to accept that they will have more difficulties finding a good job as students. Also, they will have to spend the next few years in a less cosmopolitan place than they would probably like to.
World’s Best Universities of 2015:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- University of Cambridge
- Imperial College London
- Harvard University
- University of Oxford
- UCL (University College London)
- Stanford University
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- Princeton University
- Yale University
Nevertheless, the good news is the list of the world’s top universities is almost identical to the ranking of the most prestigious higher education institutions released earlier this year the Times of Higher Education. In both studies, MIT, Cambridge and Harvard are in the top 5.
