Cambridge has become the first non-US university ever to head the QS World University Rankings, in its seventh annual edition.

Harvard, which has topped the table since 2004 drops to second place, while MIT jumped to fifth from ninth, reflecting a strong performance by technology universities.

Over 15,000 academics, including 700 university leaders, were surveyed for to decide the Top 100 universities from 22 countries, up from 19 last year.

World’s Top 10 universities:

1. University of Cambridge (UK)     
2. Harvard University (US)
3. Yale University (US)
4. University College London (UK)
5. MIT (US)
6. University of Oxford (UK)
7. Imperial College London (UK)
8. University of Chicago (US)
9. California Institute of Technology (US)
10. Princeton University (US)

The University of Cambridge was voted the best for research quality, although Harvard was the most popular among the 5,007 employers polled globally.

QS World University Rankings measure university research quality, graduate employability, teaching commitment and international commitment. QS Rankings use a combination of global surveys and audited data including citation counts from Scopus, the world’s largest database of academic publishing.

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said: “Unlike other rankings systems which rely heavily on statistical indicators of university research, QS also takes into account the most up-to-date views of employers and academics, reflecting the broader interests of students and parents.”

“QS rankings reflect the highly competitive environment of global higher education,” he added.

“Governments around the world have been directing academics to be more actively engaged with their peers, partly in response to rankings. This has resulted in 50 countries, more than ever before, being featured in the QS Top 500,” said John O’ Leary, executive member of the QS Academic Advisory Board.

Sowter continued: “Given the uncertain economic outlook, it is reassuring for students that the top 200 universities are also, by and large, the most popular universities with employers, suggesting that a world-class degree remains the best path to a great job.” – TradeArabia News Service