Oxford varsity ranks best in the world
It’s ranked top in the UK time and time again but it’s the first time it’s made the top of the Times Higher Education world university rankings.
Oxford University has topped the list of best universities in the world, making it the first UK institution to do so.
Up until now, the California Institute of Technology has been the favourite, holding the title for five years, but it’s now been knocked to second place.
Other UK universities in the top 10 list include Cambridge and Imperial College London in fourth and eight place respectively.
They join the likes of Stanford, Harvard and Princeton universities and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all of which are in the US.
The global rankings, published in the Times Higher Education (THE) world university rankings list, saw 91 UK universities placed in the top 980 universities.
University of Oxford United KingdomCalifornia Institute of Technology United StatesStanford University United StatesUniversity of Cambridge United KingdomMassachusetts Institute of Technology United StatesHarvard University United StatesPrinceton University United StatesImperial College London United KingdomETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich SwitzerlandUniversity of California, Berkeley United StatesUniversity of Chicago United StatesYale University United StatesUniversity of Pennsylvania United StatesUniversity of California, Los Angeles United StatesUniversity College London United KingdomColumbia University United StatesJohns Hopkins University United StatesDuke University United StatesCornell University United StatesNorthwestern University United States
These make up 5% of the world’s higher education institutions and are based on areas such as teaching, research and industry income.
With 88 universities in the top 800, up from 78 last year, the UK is second only to the US for the number institutions in the world’s best 800.
Phil Baty, editor of the THE world university rankings, said: ‘It is fantastic news that the University of Oxford has topped the world university rankings for the first time.
‘It is a great result for the UK higher education sector and cements its position as one of the greatest university nations in the world.’
However, Mr Baty warned that the Brexit vote was a ‘big threat’ to the higher education sector, adding that it could hinder academics from working with colleagues on the continent.
He said: ‘As well as some top academics reporting they have been frozen out of collaborative research projects with EU colleagues, many are admitting that they might look to relocate to a university outside the country.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the fifth best university in the world (Picture: Alamy)
‘A Times Higher Education survey conducted before the referendum found that 40% of university staff said they would be more likely to leave the country in the event of a Brexit.
‘It is also having an impact on the UK’s potential to attract international talent in the future – more than two-fifths of prospective overseas students said they were less likely to go to a UK university due to the referendum result, according to a survey by Hobsons.’
