Top 10 Colleges in the World by Academic Merit

University rankings usually focus on factors unrelated to academic merits. Most institutions are given rankings on the basis of the attractiveness of campus, affordability, extracurricular sports, the reprisal of students and alumni, and the expected income of students. But if you are looking for a ranking of the top 10 colleges in the world that focus on academic prestige, scholarly excellence, and pure intellectual horsepower, this guide is for you.

10. Johns Hopkins University

Source: Bloomberg

It comes at number 10 in the list of top 10 colleges in the world with a global score of 85.1. Johns Hopkins is a private institution located in Baltimore and the District of Columbia, as well as in Italy and China. 

The John Hopkins university offers six academic divisions in arts and sciences, engineering, business, education, medicine, nursing, music, public health, and international studies. Among other research facilities, The John Hopkins University’s Applied physics laboratory is an affiliated research center that is a hub for National security and Space-related Research.

9. University of Cambridge

Source: Cambridge Science Park

The University of Cambridge, located around 60 miles north of London occupies a global score of 85.8 in Global universities. There are six schools, dozens of academic Departments, and other division continues these schools. University contains 31 residential colleges in which three are 3 women-only.

Cambridge has more than 100 libraries and 140 centers for different areas of research. It has 650 members of international staff and 4005 research-only staff. 

8. University of Washington

Source: University of Washington

It has a global score of 86 in the rank of Global universities. It’s a public institution, and its oldest and largest campus in terms of enrolment is located in Seattle – the largest city in Washington. Around 70 percent of its students across all three campuses study in undergraduate programs. Still, the university offers 370 graduate programs. University has 16 colleges that offer studies in different areas like arts, science, engineering, and social work with 280 specialized research centers.

7. California Institute of Technology

Source: US News and World Report

Earlier named Throops University, The California Institute of Technology got its new name in 1920. It ranks number 7 with a global score of 86.3. It is located in Pasadena, California, roughly 11 miles northeast of Los Angeles. More than one-fourth of Caltech students are international. Caltech has 6 academic fields in which many are highly rank graduate programs. Over 80 percent of undergraduates in Caltech participate in research. The university has around 30 centers and institutes for research.

6. Columbia University

Source: Columbia Edu

Columbia University is a private institution and is located in the Upper West Side in Manhattan borough city of New York. It was originally called King’s College. At Columbia University, about 30% of the student body is international. The university consists of three schools for undergraduates: Columbia College, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of General Studies and multiple graduate and professional schools. The university students and faculty conduct researches across Science, humanity, and Social Science disciplines at more than 200 university centers and institutes. Columbia has established its global centers in Amman, Jordan, Beijing, Mumbai, India, Paris, Istanbul, Nairobi, Kenya, Santiago, Chile, and Rio de Janeiro to provide research opportunities to students.

5. University of Oxford

Source: University of Oxford

In the ranking of Top 10 colleges in the world, The University of Oxford stands in the 5th position with a global score of 87. Oxford University is situated 60 miles northwest of London. Over half of Oxford’s students’ do research as a part of their studies. Oxford University offers research in all of its academic disciplines, humanities, mathematics, physical and life sciences, and social sciences. Oxford comprises the central university with 38 colleges and six permanent private halls that offer fewer subjects. The university and its academic departments provide 900 scholarships to graduate students annually. 

4. University of California Berkeley

Top 10 Colleges in the World
Doe Library and the Campanile glow at sunset on Sept. 19, 2019. (Photo by Jami Smith for the UC Berkeley Library)

This public university, also called Berkeley or Cal, ranks 4th with a global score of 89.8. The university comprises 14 colleges and schools, including the top-ranked Haas School of Business, College of Chemistry, College of Engineering, School of public health, and School of law. University offers around 350-degree programs. Some popular major undergraduate programs are electrical engineering and computer science, economics, political science, business administration, and psychology. Berkeley supports nearly 3,000 international scholars for temporary teaching or research positions annually. Berekely researchers discovered many of the periodic table elements like Californium, Berekelium.

3. Stanford University

Top 10 Colleges in the World
Source: Stanford Edu

With a global score of 95.3, Stanford ranks 3rd in the list of of global universities. It is located in the Bay Area of California, around 30 miles south of San Francisco. It comprises seven schools, many of which are highly ranked, for the graduate level of studies. Stanford library system supports 20 libraries comprising more than 90.3 million physical volumes. It has the highest research funding of $1 billion, including funds from the federal government for the projects. Annually 3400 scientists from all over the world take advantage of SLAC’s facilities. Around 1000 research papers by the scientists at Stanford research centers are published each year. It has 788 members of international staff and 3285 research-only staff.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Top 10 Colleges in the World
Source: MIT

Massachusetts Institute of a Technology ranks number 2 in global universities with a global score of 97.9. MIT has five schools, architecture and planning, humanities, engineering, arts, management social sciences, and science.

There are many chances for MIT’s students to gain exploration experience at one of MIT’s labs or centers. Moreover, the MIT nuclear reactor laboratory is one of the largest University research reactors in the US. Almost 90 percent of university students participate in the school’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. It has 525 international faculty members and 50264 research only staff members.

1. Harvard University

Source: ASEAN

Harvard University is aged more than all the institutes in the USA. In all the global universities, Harvard ranks first, with a Global score of 100. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard research takes place in more than 100 centers, across a wide range of disciplines. Harvard library is the biggest library in the world. There are 19 million volumes in the 70 libraries. Havard has 456 international faculty members and 2075 research-only staff members.

All the colleges in this ranking have a very well deserved place, as evidenced by their national reputation. Hopefully you have an opportunity to check one out.