Times Higher Education’s University Rankings 2013-14 has revealed that the UK is the strongest higher education nation in the world outside the US, with 31 world top 200 universities.

University of Oxford and Cambridge are strongly ranked as number 2 and 7 respectively in the world. This is good news to Malaysian students who have shown to favour these two universities, particularly for recipients of JPA and other scholarships.

In 2012, Oxford University received 176 university applications and accepted 20, whilst Cambridge University received 269 applications and accepted 31 students. The acceptance rate for both universities at 11% proves that there is a steady stream of students going to both universities, which also explains the strong Malaysian community in those universities. Oxford University Malaysia Club is a strong student union, and works as a home away from home for many Malaysian students.  

Imperial College London, popular for its economics, engineering and science courses is ranked 10^th. University College London is at 21^st place, London School of Economics has jumped up seven places to 32^nd and King’s College London jumped 19 placed to 38^th. London’s Royal Holloway rose to 102^nd whilst Queen Mary University of London rose to 114^th.  

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “These rankings testify to London’s strength in higher education and to our lengthening lead over European rivals. With more stellar universities in the top 40 than anywhere else in the world, we have 110,000 of the brightest international students studying here already - but we want to attract even more. ”

“London offers more than 30,000 courses across dozens of institutions but it is the sheer quality of our education that sets us apart. This is especially true when it comes to medical and life sciences with some of the globe's best specialist institutions producing ground breaking research. This is changing lives for the better whilst bringing jobs and businesses to grow the capital’s economy at the same time.”

Whilst Australia has also proven to be a very popular destination amongst Malaysian students, only 7 universities have managed to get onto the top 200 list; University of Melbourne at 34^th, Australian National University at 48^th, University of Queensland at 63^rd, University of Sydney at 72^nd, Monash University at 91^st, University of New South Wales at 114^th and University of Western Australia at 168^th.

The rankings look at each university’s research impact, research reputation, research income, ability to attract international faculty and international students.

In the rankings overall, the US has 77 institutions in the top rankings. In Asia, Japan’s University of Tokyo maintains its status as Asia’s number one at 23^rd place, the National University of Singapore at 26^th, Seoul National University at 44^th and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology at 56^th.  

Read the full 2013-2014 Times Higher Education World Rankings here