On Tuesday, U.S. News and World Report released its annual ranking of the best global universities.
For the ranking, U.S. News analyzed the data of roughly 1,500 schools from 86 countries across 13 different variables, including global research reputation, volume and quality of publications from students and faculty and international research collaboration.
"Higher education has become more globalized," says Anita Narayan, managing editor of education for U.S. News, noting also that the coronavirus pandemic has "introduced additional factors to consider when pursuing higher education, especially if you're looking to earn a degree abroad."
Indeed, students must now consider public health and travel restrictions before studying abroad and international students studying in the United States have been particularly impacted by the pandemic. Early data from the National Student Clearinghouse indicates that enrollment of "non-resident aliens" in U.S. colleges decreased by 11.2% this semester.
Narayan and her team found that the U.S. is home to the highest number of top-ranking global universities. Some 255 U.S. schools made it into the publication's overall ranking, followed by 176 colleges in China and 87 colleges in the U.K. Schools from the U.S. and U.K. dominate the list of the top 10 global universities.
U.S. News also compared global universities across 38 subject areas, from agriculture sciences to psychology, to determine which fields schools excel in.
Here are the top 10 best global universities of 2021, according to U.S. News:
1. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts — United States
Highlight: Top-ranked university in several categories including biology & biochemistry, economics & business and immunology.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts — United States
Highlight: MIT was ranked the best university for physics in the world.
3. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California — United States
Highlight: U.S. News identified Stanford as having the best computer science program in the world.
4. University of California, Berkeley
Location: Berkeley, California — United States
Highlight: This year, UC Berkeley was recognized for having the best chemistry program.
5. University of Oxford
Location: Oxford, England — United Kingdom
Highlight: Oxford was found to have the best arts & humanities program, worldwide.
6. Columbia University
Location: New York City, New York — United States
Highlight: Columbia University was recognized by U.S. News for being among the best places to study cardiovascular systems.
7. California Institute of Technology
Location: Pasadena, California — United States
Highlight: Home to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CalTech was identified as the top-ranked university in space science.
8. University of Washington, Seattle
Location: Seattle, Washington — United States
Highlight: The University of Washington, Seattle was found to have one of the world's best clinical medicine programs.
9. University of Cambridge
Location: Cambridge, England — United Kingdom
Highlight: Cambridge's faculty has included some of history's most famous mathematicians. This year, the university earned fifth place for its mathematics program.
10. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore, Maryland — United States
Highlight: Known for its medical research, Johns Hopkins was found to have the second-best infectious disease program, as well as the second-best surgical program, in the world.
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