There are a number of universities in all the countries of the world that provide higher education to the students. The universities also have international programs, study abroad and student exchange programs that enhance cross cultural education. A number of ranking organizations rank the top universities from all the nations on a global perspective in terms of student-faculty ratio, infrastructure, academic performance, discipline-wise performance and many other criteria.
The best universities across the global provide world class educational programmes, quality education, excellent academic output and extraordinary facilities.
List of Best Universities in the World
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States
Ranked consistently as the 1st university in the world for several years by ranking organizations like the QS World University Rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the U.S. News & World Report, MIT University is a prestigious university of the United States. Providing academic excellence for many years, the university was established in 1861. It is located in the Cambridge city of Massachusetts.
It is a private American university enrolling 10984 students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in a wide range of disciplines. Whole university comprises 5 schools and 1 college consisting of around 32 academic departments.The various schools provide education in the disciplines of Architecture & Planning, Engineering, Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Management, Science and Health Science & Technology.
It is a pioneered institution in research studies providing excellent research facilities. A wide range of cutting-edge research areas are available in various departments offering research laboratories in all the research centres and institutes. The university has MITOpenCourseWare that provides free education including lecture notes, videos and other study materials which are accessible to anyone across the world.
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
The 2nd oldest university in the English speaking countries, University of Cambridge is situated in the Cambridge city in England. It is a public university having 18448 students studying in various undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes.
The QS World University Rankings has ranked the university as 2nd in the world in 2012 while it was ranked 1st in the United Kingdom by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2012. The university is organised into 6 schools and 31 colleges that contain over 150 academic departments.
The disciplines available in various schools are Arts & Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities & Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology. The university provides incomparable research facilities having established research laboratories.
It also has research partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It has produced a number of eminent researchers, award winners and maximum Nobel Prize winners that any university in the world has.
It has around 114 libraries out of which Cambridge University Library is the central library consisting of millions of books, manuscripts, journals etc. The university also has 8 beautiful museums of arts, cultural and scientific importance, and one botanical garden. Other facilities in the university include sports, societies and recreational facilities.
Harvard University, United States
The Harvard University is a private university located in the famous Cambridge city of Massachusetts. It was established in 1636 and constitutes Main campus, Medical campus and Allston campus. Around 7181 undergraduate students and 14044 postgraduate students are studying in the university.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings has ranked the university as 4th among all the universities in the world while QS World University Rankings has ranked it as 3rd in the world. It is one of the top universities in North America. The university provides undergraduate, graduate, professional, summer and continuing education programs in a wide range of disciplines.
It is organised into various schools in the disciplines of Business, Arts & Sciences, Design, Education, Law, Medicine, Dental Medicine, Engineering & Applied Sciences, Public Health, Divinity and Public Policy.
The university offers studies in 11 academic units provided by 10 faculties and one institute. It offers a number of scholarships and grants to the university students. Around 60% of the university students receive scholarships to finance their studies.
The Harvard Library consists of millions of books, journals, audio & video recordings, articles, digital material and other collections. Harvard Art Museums are just exceptional that provide excellent resources in arts and culture.
It offers various online courses to make these available to the audience across the globe. It also has facilities in various kinds of sports like basketball, hockey, wrestling, golf, tennis, swimming and many more.
UCL (University College London), United Kingdom
The QS World University Rankings has ranked University College London as 4th among all the universities in the world in 2012 and 2nd among all the European universities. It is located in the capital city of England, London.
It is a public university, founded in 1826. The undergraduate and graduate students at the university are 24680 in total. It is one of the constituent colleges of the University of London. The university is divided into 10 faculties constituting 100 academic departments, research centres and institutes.
The areas of studies include Arts & Humanities, Brain Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Laws, Life Sciences, Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Built Environment, Medical Sciences, Health Sciences and Social & Historical Sciences. The hundreds of partnerships with other universities in academic and research areas offer student exchange and study abroad programs.
The library system of the university consists of 16 libraries having millions of books and journals in areas of arts, social sciences and humanities. Apart from this, museums and sports facilities in the university are excellent. A number of Fields Medallists and Nobel Prize winners are alumni of this university.
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
The oldest university in the English speaking countries, Oxford University is ranked among the top 5 universities in the world.The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Oxford as the 4th university among all the universities in the world and 1st in the United Kingdom.
It has 4 academic divisions in the disciplines of Humanities, Medical Sciences, Social Sciences and Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences being taught in 28 colleges and 6 private halls. It constitutes 100 libraries, 6 museums and a number of research facilities across all the academic units.