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QS World University Rankings 2022

UK universities climb the tables in the QS World University Rankings 2022 while MIT secures a decade-long first place.

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Each year when the QS World University Rankings are released, we expect to see the same institutions within the top three and five positions. From 2019 to 2021 the top three places have been dominated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1st), Stanford University (2nd) and Harvard University (3rd). However, in 2022, there have been notable shifts.  

 

While MIT celebrates its 10th year in first position, Harvard University drops from third to fifth place, being replaced by the University of Oxford. This is quite a knock for Harvard which falls to its lowest ever position. The California Institute of Technology has also fallen from its usual position within the top five down to 6th place.

 

This edition of the rankings has proven positive for UK universities. For example, the University of Cambridge climbs from 7th to joint third position with Stanford University while Imperial College London has risen from 8th to 7th place (2021-2022) and UCL from 10th to 8th.

 

It’s important to remember that these universities sit within the top 10 positions and are considered global leaders in higher education. Falling one or two places in the rankings is not necessarily a reason to discredit these institutions.

 

Use these rankings as a starting point in your research but don’t forget that there are many other important factors to consider when comparing universities.

 

If you are interested in understanding the methodology behind the rankings, check out our other QS ranking article.

 

Which universities rank within the top 10?

Find out which universities rank within the top 10 in 2022.

 

2022

2021

University

Country

1

1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

USA

2

5

University of Oxford

UK

=3

2

Stanford University

USA

=3

7

University of Cambridge

UK

5

3

Harvard University

USA

6

4

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

USA

7

8

Imperial College London

UK

=8

6

ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Switzerland

=8

10

UCL

UK

10

9

University of Chicago

USA

 

 

Which universities rank within the top 25?

This table reflects the universities ranking in 11th to 25th position. Check out the differences between the rankings in 2021 and 2022.

 

2022

2021

University

Country

11

11

National University of Singapore

Singapore

12

13

Nanyang Technological University (NTU)

Singapore

13

16

University of Pennsylvania

USA

=14

14

EPFL

Switzerland

=14

17

Yale University

USA

16

20

University of Edinburgh

UK

17

15

Tsinghua University

China

18

23

Peking University

China

19

19

Columbia University

USA

20

12

Princeton University

USA

21

18

Cornell University

USA

22

22

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

=23

24

University of Tokyo

Japan

=23

21

University of Michigan Ann-Arbor

USA

25

25

John Hopkins University

USA

 

In these latest rankings, you can see that there have been some notable changes since the 2021 edition within the top 25 universities in the world. Firstly, three out of seven U.S. universities have a lower score since last year.

 

This includes Princeton University which has dropped from 12th to 20th position, Cornell University has fallen from 18th to 21st and the University of Michigan Ann-Arbor has also moved from 21st to 23rd. However, there are some victories for other U.S. institutions. For example, the University of Pennsylvania has moved up from 16th to 13th, Yale University from 17th to 14th and Columbia University remains in 19th.

 

When comparing the league tables from 2019 onwards, you can see that Peking University in China has steadily climbed the rankings from 30th in 2019 to 18th in 2022. The other China-based institution within the top 25, Tsinghua University, has been steadily improving its position in the tables from 17th to 15th position (2019-2021) but this year’s table sees it dropping back to 17th place.

 

Which universities rank within the top 50?

Of course, securing a place at a top 10 university is an incredible achievement that will be highly regarded by employers around the world. But it’s also important to choose a university based on the course you wish to study. Some institutions will have better teaching and resources for certain degree programmes, so make sure you consider this when researching.

 

That’s why it’s worth considering universities within the top 50 and top 100 as these institutions are highly esteemed and may be better suited to your wants and needs.

 

With the remaining positions in the top 50, you can see more of a presence from universities in Canada, Australia, France, and China. Some of the most noticeable differences between 2021 and 2022 include the jump from 61st to 49th position for the Institut Polytechnique de Paris which now places within the top 50 universities in the world. Similarly, the French institution, Université PSL, has risen from 52nd to 44th in just a year.

 

2022

2021

University

Country

26

25

University of Toronto

Canada

=27

31

McGill University

Canada

=27

31

The Australian National University

Australia

=27

27

University of Manchester

UK

30

29

Northwestern University

USA

31

34

Fudan University

China

32

30

University of California, Berkley

USA

33

38

Kyoto University

Japan

34

27

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Hong Kong

35

31

Kings College London

UK

36

37

Seoul National University

South Korea

37

41

University of Melbourne

Australia

38

40

University of Sydney

Australia

39

43

Chinese University of Hong Kong

China

40

36

University of California, Los Angeles

USA

41

39

KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

South Korea

42

35

New York University (NYU)

USA

43

44

University of New South Wales

Australia

44

52

Université PSL

France

45

53

Zhejiang University

China

46

45

University of British Columbia

Canada

47

46

University of Queensland

Australia

48

54

University of California, San Diego

USA

=49

61

Institut Polytechnique de Paris

France

=49

49

London School of Economics and Political Science

UK

 

Hopefully, this has given you some great insights into the best-performing universities in the world. Use these tables as a starting point for your research before looking into the university and its courses on offer.

 

If you have a course in mind, use our site search tool to find a degree, university and destination. You can also find out more about the best universities in the UK with the Complete University Guide League Tables 2022.

 

Make sure you stay up to date with the latest news in the international education sector.

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