QS World University Rankings 2021: Top Global Universities | Top Universities

QS World University Rankings 2021

Discover the world’s top universities. Explore the QS World University Rankings® 2021.

Out now! QS World University Rankings 2024.

This year’s QS World University Rankings reveals the top 1,000 universities from around the world, covering 80 different locations. There are 47 new entrants in this year’s top 1,000 while over 5,500 universities were evaluated and considered for inclusion. For more information on this process, consult our methodology. While the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) continues its record-breaking streak at number one - the ninth year in a row it’s achieved this feat - the big story this year is the impressive gains made by Asian universities. 26 institutions from the continent now feature in the global top 100, more than ever before. This year’s rankings are launched at a challenging time for the whole world, with COVID-19 impacting universities and students alike. For the latest information on COVID-19 for students, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 page. We are also contacting universities to learn more about how the pandemic is impacting applications, and this information can be found on our COVID-19 admissions page.Want to share your thoughts on this year’s ranking? Has this helped you make your mind up about where to apply? Tweet us @TopUnis or use the #QSWUR hashtag and let us know!

Explore the QS World University Rankings 2023

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QS World University Rankings 2021

Discover the world’s top universities. Explore the QS World University Rankings® 2021.

Out now! QS World University Rankings 2024.

This year’s QS World University Rankings reveals the top 1,000 universities from around the world, covering 80 different locations. There are 47 new entrants in this year’s top 1,000 while over 5,500 universities were evaluated and considered for inclusion. For more information on this process, consult our methodology. While the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) continues its record-breaking streak at number one - the ninth year in a row it’s achieved this feat - the big story this year is the impressive gains made by Asian universities. 26 institutions from the continent now feature in the global top 100, more than ever before. This year’s rankings are launched at a challenging time for the whole world, with COVID-19 impacting universities and students alike. For the latest information on COVID-19 for students, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 page. We are also contacting universities to learn more about how the pandemic is impacting applications, and this information can be found on our COVID-19 admissions page.Want to share your thoughts on this year’s ranking? Has this helped you make your mind up about where to apply? Tweet us @TopUnis or use the #QSWUR hashtag and let us know!

Explore the QS World University Rankings 2023

Read more

Register for free site membership to access direct university comparisons and more

Register today!

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Published on: 10 June 2020

Published on: 10 June 2020

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Research & Discovery
Academic Reputation
Citations per Faculty
Learning Experience
Faculty Student Ratio
Employability
Employer Reputation
Global Engagement
International Student Ratio
International Faculty Ratio

To explore more rankings indicators, click aboveArrow Icon

Rank 1 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 100

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

99.1

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

91.9

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 2 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 98.4
Stanford University Stanford University
location Stanford, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

98.1

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

63.6

International Faculty Ratio

99.7

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 3 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 97.9
Harvard University Harvard University
location Cambridge, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

99.1

Faculty Student Ratio

98.6

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

69.9

International Faculty Ratio

85.2

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 4 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 97

Academic Reputation

97

Citations per Faculty

99.9

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

82.8

International Student Ratio

88.2

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 5 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 96.7
University of Oxford University of Oxford
location Oxford, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

81.3

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

98.3

International Faculty Ratio

99.4

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 6 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 95
ETH Zurich ETH Zurich
location Zürich, Switzerland
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98.7

Citations per Faculty

96.4

Faculty Student Ratio

80.8

Employer Reputation

96.6

International Student Ratio

97.9

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 7 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 94.3
University of Cambridge University of Cambridge
location Cambridge, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

69.2

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

97.4

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 8 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 93.6
Imperial College London Imperial College London
location London, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98.5

Citations per Faculty

68.6

Faculty Student Ratio

99.9

Employer Reputation

99.8

International Student Ratio

100

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 9 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 93.1
University of Chicago University of Chicago
location Chicago, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.4

Citations per Faculty

86.3

Faculty Student Ratio

94.4

Employer Reputation

91.3

International Student Ratio

82.6

International Faculty Ratio

67.1

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 10 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 92.9
UCL UCL
location London, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.4

Citations per Faculty

65.4

Faculty Student Ratio

98.4

Employer Reputation

98.3

International Student Ratio

100

International Faculty Ratio

99.3

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 11 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 91.5

Academic Reputation

99.7

Citations per Faculty

72.9

Faculty Student Ratio

90.7

Employer Reputation

98.4

International Student Ratio

71.4

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 12 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 91
Princeton University Princeton University
location Princeton, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.9

Citations per Faculty

100

Faculty Student Ratio

68.6

Employer Reputation

99

International Student Ratio

65.6

International Faculty Ratio

71.6

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 13 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 89.9

Academic Reputation

89.8

Citations per Faculty

89

Faculty Student Ratio

91.5

Employer Reputation

89.8

International Student Ratio

67.6

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 14 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 89.6

Academic Reputation

80.4

Citations per Faculty

98.5

Faculty Student Ratio

96.3

Employer Reputation

80

International Student Ratio

100

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 15 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 89.2
Tsinghua University Tsinghua University
location Beijing, China (Mainland)
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98.2

Citations per Faculty

83.2

Faculty Student Ratio

93.3

Employer Reputation

98.6

International Student Ratio

29.7

International Faculty Ratio

55.3

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 16 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 88.6
University of Pennsylvania University of Pennsylvania
location Philadelphia, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

96.1

Citations per Faculty

63.8

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

91.5

International Student Ratio

65.3

International Faculty Ratio

88.7

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 17 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 88
Yale University Yale University
location New Haven, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.9

Citations per Faculty

52.8

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

100

International Student Ratio

54.5

International Faculty Ratio

85.3

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 18 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 87.6
Cornell University Cornell University
location Ithaca, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98.5

Citations per Faculty

88.6

Faculty Student Ratio

63.7

Employer Reputation

90.9

International Student Ratio

70

International Faculty Ratio

93.7

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 19 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 86.5
Columbia University Columbia University
location New York City, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.7

Citations per Faculty

48.5

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

97.3

International Student Ratio

96.3

International Faculty Ratio

37.2

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 20 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 85.8
The University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh
location Edinburgh, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98

Citations per Faculty

50.2

Faculty Student Ratio

83.1

Employer Reputation

95.4

International Student Ratio

99

International Faculty Ratio

98.2

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 21 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 84.6

Academic Reputation

98.9

Citations per Faculty

58

Faculty Student Ratio

89.4

Employer Reputation

92.7

International Student Ratio

41.3

International Faculty Ratio

74.8

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 22 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 83.7
The University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong
location Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

98.1

Citations per Faculty

48

Faculty Student Ratio

83.8

Employer Reputation

76.3

International Student Ratio

98.9

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 23 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 83.5
Peking University Peking University
location Beijing, China (Mainland)
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

99.2

Citations per Faculty

64.9

Faculty Student Ratio

76.4

Employer Reputation

99.1

International Student Ratio

34.3

International Faculty Ratio

69.7

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 24 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 83.2

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

62.5

Faculty Student Ratio

92.3

Employer Reputation

99.6

International Student Ratio

26.1

International Faculty Ratio

10.7

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 25 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 82.7
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
location Baltimore, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

86.7

Citations per Faculty

75.9

Faculty Student Ratio

100

Employer Reputation

47

International Student Ratio

87.7

International Faculty Ratio

66.3

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 25 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 82.7

Academic Reputation

99.3

Citations per Faculty

45.8

Faculty Student Ratio

70.3

Employer Reputation

96.8

International Student Ratio

94.1

International Faculty Ratio

97.9

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 27 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 82.1

Academic Reputation

85.2

Citations per Faculty

92.1

Faculty Student Ratio

66.7

Employer Reputation

63.6

International Student Ratio

88.9

International Faculty Ratio

100

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 27 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 82.1
The University of Manchester The University of Manchester
location Manchester, United Kingdom
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

95.3

Citations per Faculty

48.4

Faculty Student Ratio

72.7

Employer Reputation

97.4

International Student Ratio

98.8

International Faculty Ratio

92.9

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 29 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 81.5
Northwestern University Northwestern University
location Evanston, United States
QS stars QS Stars

Academic Reputation

85.1

Citations per Faculty

72.3

Faculty Student Ratio

99.7

Employer Reputation

74.4

International Student Ratio

45.3

International Faculty Ratio

57.9

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

Rank 30 Dagger Icon
Overall Score: 80.8

Academic Reputation

100

Citations per Faculty

96.9

Faculty Student Ratio

21.3

Employer Reputation

99.9

International Student Ratio

39.7

International Faculty Ratio

94.9

International Fees

Scholarship

Student Mix

English Tests

Academic Tests

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