In the 2021 US News and World Report Global University Rankings published today, the United States' Harvard University secured the first spot yet again while Tsinghua University in China overtook the National University of Singapore to take the top spot in Asia.
With data on nearly 1,500 schools, the rankings evaluate universities from dozens of countries on academic research and reputation.
The coronavirus pandemic has introduced additional factors to consider when pursuing higher education, especially for those looking to earn a degree abroad.
"For prospective students, the Best Global Universities rankings provide a solid place to begin your search, create an initial list of schools and compare overall academic quality," Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at US News, said.
The top 10 schools are located in the US, with the exception of two schools in the United Kingdom; the University of Oxford, ranked No 5 and the University of Cambridge, ranked No 9.
The US has 255 universities that qualified for the overall ranking, more than any other nation. China has the second-highest number of institutions at 176, and the UK has the third-largest contingent at 87.
"The Best Global Universities methodology places significant emphasis on academic research," said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at US News. "With rankings by subject, region and country, students and their families can easily learn more about schools based on their specific needs and interests."
The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru was ranked No 1 in India and 520th globally, followed by Delhi University at 564th. Tsinghua University in Beijing took the top spot in Asia and was 28th on the global list, overtaking National University of Singapore at 32nd this year.
The Best Global Universities methodology weighs factors that measure a university’s global and regional research reputation and academic research performance. For the overall rankings, this includes bibliometric indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration.
The 2021 Best Global Universities rankings are based on data and metrics provided by Clarivate, a research and analytics firm.
Overall Best Global Universities – Top 10
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University
- University of California–Berkeley
- University of Oxford
- Columbia University
- California Institute of Technology
- University of Washington
- University of Cambridge
- Johns Hopkins University
Asia – Top 3
- Tsinghua University (China)
- National University of Singapore
- Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)