There are many amazing colleges all around the world, but have you ever wondered which colleges are the best of the best? Look no further! We put together a list of the top 3 ranking global colleges in 2018 for each continent using data from U.S. News. They evaluated 1,250 universities across 74 countries and were able to come up with a rating system to rank each university in order. If you want more details about the methodology used to calculate the rankings, you can scroll to the bottom of this blog and read about it.
Africa:
1.University of Cape Town (South Africa)
With an overall global score of 64.4, the University of Cape Town is the number one global university in Africa in 2018 and ranked #113 in the world.
This school is known for being the second oldest university in Africa along with being a representative of forward thinking and modern African optimism.
2. University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)
With an overall score of 57.1, the University of Witwatersrand is the second best global university in Africa in 2018 and ranked #216 in the world.
This school is known for being one of the best medical schools in the continent and being home to one of the largest fossil collections in the southern hemisphere.
3. University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa)
With an overall global score of 50.4, the University of KwaZulu Natal is the third best global university in Africa in 2018 and ranked #336 in the world.
This school is known for it’s merging of two historical universities; Durban-Westville and the University of Natal back in January 2004.
Asia:
1. National University of Singapore (Singapore)
With an overall global score of 73.2, the National University of Singapore is the number one global university in Asia in 2018 and ranked #43 in the world.
This school is known for not only being the first Yale titled Ivy League school in Asia, but for also being the first liberal arts college in Singapore.
2. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
With an overall global score of 71.4, Nanyang Technological University is the second best global university in Asia in 2018 and ranked #55 in the world.
This school is known for holding on-campus weddings, being eco-friendly, having cat cafes and cat management networks, etc.
3. University of Tokyo (Japan)
With an overall global score of 71.3, the University of Tokyo is the third best global university in Asia in 2018 and ranked #57 in the world.
This school is known for being the birthplace of Japanese baseball. The first international baseball game was held with the University of Tokyo’s participation.
Australia
With an overall global score of 75.8, the University of Melbourne is the number one global university in Australia in 2018 and ranked #26 in the world.
The city of Melbourne is known for regularly topping the list for the world’s most livable cities, making the University of Melbourne a desirable location to study.
With an overall global score of 74.5, the University of Sydney is the second best overall global university in Australia in 2018 and ranked #34 in the world.
This school is recognized worldwide for their excellent research and teaching along with being the oldest university in Australia.
3. University of Queensland Australia
With an overall global score of 72.9, the University of Queensland Australia is the third best overall global university in Australia in 2018 and #45 in the world.
This school is known for having one of the largest PhD enrollments in Australia.
Europe
1. University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
With an overall global score of 87.3, the University of Oxford is the number one global university in Europe in 2018 and ranked #5 in the world.
This school is known for influencing the English language. In 1857, existing English language dictionaries were considered incomplete and deficient. It called for a complete re-examination. By 1879, the Oxford University Press worked on a New English dictionary (now known as the Oxford English Dictionary).
2. University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
With an overall global score of 85.3, the University of Cambridge is the second best global university in Europe in 2018 and ranked #7 in the world.
This school is known for its many libraries. There are over 100 libraries on campus. The central library alone has about 8 million volumes available. Other on-campus libraries hold books from Sir Isaac Newton’s personal library, early Shakespeare editions, etc.
3. Imperial College London (United Kingdom)
With an overall global score of 81.3, Imperial College London is the third best global university in Europe in 2018 and ranked #17 in the world.
This school is known for housing the largest brain bank in the United Kingdom. It holds a collection of central nervous system tissue donated by individuals who had multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and other related conditions. There are around 1,650 specimen stored in this brain bank at -80°C.
Latin America
1.University of São Paulo (Brazil)
With an overall global score of 61.4, the University of Sāo Paulo is the number one global university in Latin America in 2018 and ranked #153 in the world.
This school is known for its museums and art galleries which are mostly located on central campus. There’s the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Paulista Museum (Historical Museum of São Paulo), the Museum of Zoology, and the Museum of Archeology and Ethnology USP.
2. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (Chile)
With an overall global score of 61.4, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile is the second best global university in Latin America in 2018 and ranked #315 in the world.
This school is known for its historical religious background. It was founded by the Santiago Archbishop in 1888, declared a pontifical university by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and still holds a close relationship with the Vatican to this day.
3. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
With an overall global score of 50.3, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is the third best school in Latin America in 2018 and ranked #338 in the world.
This school is known for its famous infrastructure. The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s main infrastructure is located on an artificial island called Ilha Do Fundão Island. It was created by the union of various existing islands by using embankment dams (artificial dams) in 1950.
North America
1.Harvard University (United States)
With an overall global score of 100, Harvard University i the best global university in North America in 2018 and ranked #1 in the world.
As one of the most prestigious schools in the United States, this school is known for it’s alumni who went on to become United States Presidents. Rutherford Hayes, George W. Bush, John F. Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, John Quincy Adams, John Adams, and Barack Obama all attended Harvard University.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States)
With an overall global score of 97.3, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the second best global University in North America in 2018 and ranked #2 in the world.
This school is known for its many world changing innovations. In 1940, MIT perfected radar technology which saved lives during WWII. In 2000, MIT was able to use radar technology to save the lives of cancer patients.
3. Stanford University (United States)
With an overall global score of 92.3, Stanford University is the third best global university in North America in 2018 and ranked #3 in the world.
This school is known for their rich sports heritage. Since 1908, students from Stanford University have won in every Olympic game. They have a total of 270 medals, 139 which are gold.
If you are wondering about the methodology behind the calculations made to rank the global universities, all ranking data comes from the U.S. News. They evaluated a pool of 1,295 universities using Clarivate Analytics InCites and then broke it down into 1,250 universities across 74 countries. The ranks were then calculated by 13 indicators and weights that the U.S. News used to measure global research performances:
Global research reputation (12.5%), regional research reputation (12.5%), publications (10%), books (2.5%), conferences (2.5%), normalized citation impact (10%), total citations (7.5%), number of publications that are among the top 10 percent most cited (12.5%), percentage of total publications that are among the top 10 percent most cited (10%), international collaboration (5%), percentage of total publications with international collaboration (5%), number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1 percent most cited in their respective field (5%), and the percentage of total publications that are among the top 1 percent most highly cited papers (5%).
If you want to see each individual university’s 13 indicators, you can click on the school above each picture. For a more detailed description of the methodology used, click here.