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Harvard University Tops the Shanghai Ranking Again
Craig OCallaghan
Updated Aug 15, 2017Save
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Harvard University has topped the Academic Ranking of World Universities published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy for the 15th consecutive year.
The Ivy League institution is one of 16 US universities in the ranking’s top 20, with Stanford University holding on to second place again this year. At third, up one place from last year, is the University of Cambridge, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – the best university in the world according to the QS World University Rankings – are in fourth.
The Shanghai Ranking is dominated by US and UK universities, with only one university in the top 20 coming from a different country. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is ranked 19th. China is well-represented lower down the table, with 57 universities in the top 500, but the highest-ranked Asian university is based in Japan. The University of Tokyo just misses out on a place in the top 20, ranking 24th.
The ARWU ranking considers the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, as well as the number of highly cited researchers at a university and the number of articles published in particular academic journals.
For the first time ever, the Shanghai Ranking has been expanded beyond a top 500, with the universities ranked 501-800 included this year under the label “ARWU World Top 500 Candidates”. These are universities which are considered to have the potential to break into the top 500 in the future.
The complete top 20 in this year’s ranking can be found below.
Rank
University
Country
1
Harvard University
US
2
Stanford University
US
3
University of Cambridge
UK
4
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
US
5
University of California, Berkeley
US
6
Princeton University
US
7
University of Oxford
UK
8
Columbia University
US
9
California Institute of Technology
US
10
University of Chicago
US
11
Yale University
US
12
University of California, Los Angeles
US
13
University of Washington
US
14
Cornell University
US
15
University of California, San Diego
US
16
University College London
UK
17
University of Pennsylvania
US
18
Johns Hopkins University
US
19
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
SWI
20
Washington University in St Louis
US
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As Head of Content, Craig is responsible for all articles and guides published across TopUniversities and TopMBA. He has nearly 10 years of experience writing for a student audience and extensive knowledge of universities and study programs around the world.
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