Harvard University may be America's top-ranked national university, along with Princeton University, in U.S.News & World Report's latest Best Colleges rankings, but a competitor across the pond is now stealing some of that thunder.

For the second year in a row, the United Kingdom's University of Cambridge topped Harvard in the U.S. News World's Best Universities rankings, released today and based on data from the 2011 QS World University Rankings. Developed by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global career and education network, the World's Best rankings showcase the top international universities, from North and South America to Europe and Asia and beyond.

Six distinct indicators were evaluated to rank the top 400 universities worldwide: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international faculty, proportion of international students, and citations per faculty. The gap between Cambridge and Harvard was incredibly small--a difference of about 0.7 points in their overall scores--and can be attributed to Cambridge's more impressive faculty-student ratio.

Despite Harvard falling slightly behind a U.K. university, U.S. schools dominated the top 400 list, with six American institutions appearing in the top 10 (Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University). The highest showing by a non-American or non-British university was Canada's McGill University, at No. 17. Asia's highest ranking came via University of Hong Kong (HKU), at No. 22.

A separate ranking of the top 100 Asian universities highlights the dynamism of the Asian region, where countries such as China, South Korea, and India are investing heavily in higher education to cater to both domestic and international students. This year, to better reflect the region's unique character, a distinct methodology from the top 400 global rankings was used, with indicators such as Asian academic reputation and Asian employer review.

The leaders of the pack came from Hong Kong, with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and HKU taking the first and second spots, respectively. The gap between the two was very narrow--a difference of 0.2 points in their overall scores--with HKUST's research productivity giving it the edge. Japan, whose economy is slowly recovering from the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, was nonetheless dominant in the Asian rankings, with five Japanese schools in the top 10.

Meanwhile, China, the world's largest source for international students at U.S. universities, made strides with its own schools. Peking University and Tsinghua University were both among the top 20 best Asian universities, performing very well in the academic and employer reputation indicators. India didn't fare as well, due to low citations scores; its highest entries were three Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Kanpur, Delhi, and Bombay) at No. 36, No. 37, and No. 38, respectively.

Like Asia, Latin America is undergoing significant development, propelled by rising economic powerhouse Brazil. The country's Universidad de São Paulo took the No. 1 spot in the top 100 Latin American universities rankings, beating Chile's Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile by 0.4 points in its overall score. The new Latin rankings use a distinct methodology, evaluating indicators such as Latin American academic reputation, Latin American employer review, and proportion of staff with Ph.D.'s.

Brazil was the clear leader, fielding three institutions in the top 10 and eight in the top 20. The country's huge investments in higher education to fuel economic growth, and its prioritization of research, have paid off: Brazilian universities performed particularly well in measures such as papers per faculty and proportion of academics with Ph.D.'s.

Meanwhile, Mexico--with two institutions in the top 10 of the Latin rankings--showcased strong reputations across the region, despite lower performance in research measures for most of its universities. The fifth-ranked Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) had the highest academic reputation, while seventh-ranked Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) had the second-highest employer reputation.

Going beyond global and regional comparisons, the new World's Best Universities subject rankings examine the top schools worldwide in 24 subjects (top 30 for chemical engineering and top 50 for all other subjects). Divided into five broad categories--arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences; natural sciences; and social sciences--the individual subject rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and citations per paper.

MIT dominated all engineering and technology rankings, taking the top spot in the computer science; civil engineering; chemical engineering; electrical engineering; and mechanical, aeronautical, and manufacturing engineering fields. Other American institutions that had strong showings in that category include Stanford University, University of California--Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

U.S. universities similarly led the pack in two other broad categories: life sciences and social sciences. In the former, Harvard took the lead in biological sciences and psychology; in the latter, while Harvard took the No. 1 spot atop the accounting and finance; economics and econometrics; politics and international studies; and sociology rankings, Stanford topped the statistics and operational research rankings.

http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world?page=16
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cambridge-Tops-Harvard-Again-usnews-8808299.html?x=0


Only South Africa, ie University of Capetown made it among the Top 400 list. It was ranked 156. 

I think some Nigerian universities made the African list .

Even though the best university in the world keeps tilting the way of Harvard, MIT and Cambridge, Harvard still remains the overall best in the world. MIT is the best technoligical school. While John Hopkins universityis the best medical school the world over.

I think some Nigerian universities made the African list .

Even though the best university in the world keeps tilting the way of Harvard, MIT and Cambridge, Harvard still remains the overall best in the world. MIT is the best technoligical school. While John Hopkins universityis the best medical school the world over.

If you narrow it down to West Africa you will be shocked bro,

Isn't Nigeria supposed to be taking the lead in almost everythinng inclkuding education? This country na wa.

Nawa 4 nigeria o,al atributed 2 d bad leaders we av cos nigeria has al d potentials she nids 2 rank among d best countries in d world

What a big shame on Nigeria this only proves the damage corruption can do to a nation, come to think of it is there a nigerian university better than those in Ghana not to talk of the whole world.SHAME

im even glad an African uni is inside,

Covenant University is the 3rd best university in Africa , No be me rate am ohhh, b4 una castrate me

IbroSaunks:

im even glad an African uni is inside,

Would it increase your money in your bank account?

when there is no electricity, what do you expect?

Can we have a list of the top 50 in Africa,anyone  

Shambolic.

best joke i have heard in Ages! if we had good educational system, i think Unilag and Uni Ibadan would be in there! but i dont mind as long as Any Ghanaian University is not there too.

This is no surprise,it shouldn't be to anyone in naija na.

Which way Nigeria? BUT WE DO HAVE THE BEST BRAINS

That reminds me, with all the money paid to have education at colleges like Covenand University, why are they not in the top ranks, at least in Africa

actually , this is a scam, what about all those religious Uni's springing up in Nija, aint they meant to be Top class uni?  is there teaching methods and standards that low, ? all bunch of thieves to me

K

actually , this is a scam, what about all those religious Uni's springing up in Nija, aint they meant to be Top class uni? is there teaching methods and standards that low, ? all bunch of thieves to me . heard stories about them, you miss your schools fees is str8 extradiction. and yet your mum and pops are paying their tithes, ! Nigerians wake up. dont even get me started on these churches that all competing who has the biggest church and airplanes! Jesus rode a measley donkey, our MOG drive the best vehicle and receive 5 star treatment, i hope they all receive 5star treatment in hell , for those that are fake .

Macteejay2:

Harvard University may be America's top-ranked national university, along with Princeton University, in U.S.News & World Report's latest Best Colleges rankings, but a competitor across the pond is now stealing some of that thunder.

For the second year in a row, the United Kingdom's University of Cambridge topped Harvard in the U.S. News World's Best Universities rankings, released today and based on data from the 2011 QS World University Rankings. Developed by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a leading global career and education network, the World's Best rankings showcase the top international universities, from North and South America to Europe and Asia and beyond.

Six distinct indicators were evaluated to rank the top 400 universities worldwide: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, proportion of international faculty, proportion of international students, and citations per faculty. The gap between Cambridge and Harvard was incredibly small--a difference of about 0.7 points in their overall scores--and can be attributed to Cambridge's more impressive faculty-student ratio.

Despite Harvard falling slightly behind a U.K. university, U.S. schools dominated the top 400 list, with six American institutions appearing in the top 10 (Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University). The highest showing by a non-American or non-British university was Canada's McGill University, at No. 17. Asia's highest ranking came via University of Hong Kong (HKU), at No. 22.

A separate ranking of the top 100 Asian universities highlights the dynamism of the Asian region, where countries such as China, South Korea, and India are investing heavily in higher education to cater to both domestic and international students. This year, to better reflect the region's unique character, a distinct methodology from the top 400 global rankings was used, with indicators such as Asian academic reputation and Asian employer review.

The leaders of the pack came from Hong Kong, with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and HKU taking the first and second spots, respectively. The gap between the two was very narrow--a difference of 0.2 points in their overall scores--with HKUST's research productivity giving it the edge. Japan, whose economy is slowly recovering from the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, was nonetheless dominant in the Asian rankings, with five Japanese schools in the top 10.

Meanwhile, China, the world's largest source for international students at U.S. universities, made strides with its own schools. Peking University and Tsinghua University were both among the top 20 best Asian universities, performing very well in the academic and employer reputation indicators. India didn't fare as well, due to low citations scores; its highest entries were three Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Kanpur, Delhi, and Bombay) at No. 36, No. 37, and No. 38, respectively.

Like Asia, Latin America is undergoing significant development, propelled by rising economic powerhouse Brazil. The country's Universidad de São Paulo took the No. 1 spot in the top 100 Latin American universities rankings, beating Chile's Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile by 0.4 points in its overall score. The new Latin rankings use a distinct methodology, evaluating indicators such as Latin American academic reputation, Latin American employer review, and proportion of staff with Ph.D.'s.

Brazil was the clear leader, fielding three institutions in the top 10 and eight in the top 20. The country's huge investments in higher education to fuel economic growth, and its prioritization of research, have paid off: Brazilian universities performed particularly well in measures such as papers per faculty and proportion of academics with Ph.D.'s.

Meanwhile, Mexico--with two institutions in the top 10 of the Latin rankings--showcased strong reputations across the region, despite lower performance in research measures for most of its universities. The fifth-ranked Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) had the highest academic reputation, while seventh-ranked Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) had the second-highest employer reputation.

Going beyond global and regional comparisons, the new World's Best Universities subject rankings examine the top schools worldwide in 24 subjects (top 30 for chemical engineering and top 50 for all other subjects). Divided into five broad categories--arts and humanities; engineering and technology; life sciences; natural sciences; and social sciences--the individual subject rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and citations per paper.

MIT dominated all engineering and technology rankings, taking the top spot in the computer science; civil engineering; chemical engineering; electrical engineering; and mechanical, aeronautical, and manufacturing engineering fields. Other American institutions that had strong showings in that category include Stanford University, University of California--Berkeley, and California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

U.S. universities similarly led the pack in two other broad categories: life sciences and social sciences. In the former, Harvard took the lead in biological sciences and psychology; in the latter, while Harvard took the No. 1 spot atop the accounting and finance; economics and econometrics; politics and international studies; and sociology rankings, Stanford topped the statistics and operational research rankings.

http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world?page=16
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cambridge-Tops-Harvard-Again-usnews-8808299.html?x=0


Only South Africa, ie University of Capetown made it among the Top 400 list. It was ranked 156.

Actually 2 South African Universities. They are University of Cape Town (the undisputed best University in Africa) and Wits University (University of the Witwatersrand).

I thinks this is a wake up call again that out education sector is going town both private and public

we don't have to be best, but a good recognition would be good

God bless Nigeria

May God help us in dis 9ja o, Com pple wer is dis country leadin to??

What a shame!

Covenant University will soon be ranked world best,if it could accomplish this much in just 9 yrs,then lets be on da look out . lol

Wetin dem de teach us for Nigeria universities?

No Nigeria lecturer goes into real research in the right sense- Most works are copy and paste and modified
Research funds when released are shared and spent by VCs and lecturers
No conducive learning environment( Tables & chairs, lecture rooms (150 students in 50 capacity room) etc)
No world class infastructures and facilities- Even private Universities
Books in the Libraries are Old and no longer in use
Practical equipments in lab & workshops are late or not functioning (Lathe machine in my school is 200 years old behind)
Lecturers have their own businesses by the corner not dedicated at all.
etc

These are some of the indices used to rate universities in the world

am not surprise,Nigerian universities are shameful

Nigeria is much backward in education, so don't expect any ranking.

how can we bi there with those olodo profs like me?

Nigerian universities are not even among the first 7000.

stagger:

Nigerian universities are not even among the first 7000.

i think uni ilorin is in d top 6500 . the strike in Nigerian uni is enuf to cut down our rankings.

nakedall:

how can we bi there with those olodo profs like me?

LMFAOOOO

Dat one na their own cup of tea, wat is important is how God have rank Nigeria. the whit men ar not God there jst two footed animal like every other person, Nigeria will ever remain Bless