2007 times higher education supplement (thes)-qs university rankings

2007 RANK 2006 RANK INSTITUTION NAME COUNTRY

1 1 HARVARD University United States
2= 2 University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
2= 3 University of OXFORD United Kingdom
2= 4= YALE University United States
5 9 Imperial College LONDON United Kingdom
6 10 PRINCETON University United States
7= 7 CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States
7= 11 University of CHICAGO United States
9 25 UCL (University College LONDON) United Kingdom
10 4= MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (MIT) United States

11 12 COLUMBIA University United States
12 21 MCGILL University Canada
13 13 DUKE University United States
14 26 University of PENNSYLVANIA United States
15 23 JOHNS HOPKINS University United States
16 16 AUSTRALIAN National University Australia
17 19= University of TOKYO Japan
18 33= University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
19 6 STANFORD University United States
20= 35= CARNEGIE MELLON University United States
20= 15 CORNELL University United States

22 8 University of California, BERKELEY United States
23 33= University of EDINBURGH United Kingdom
24 46= King's College LONDON United Kingdom
25 29= KYOTO University Japan
26 18 Ecole Normale Supérieure, PARIS France
27 22 University of MELBOURNE Australia
28 37 ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE France
29 42 NORTHWESTERN University United States
30 40 University of MANCHESTER United Kingdom

31 35= The University of SYDNEY Australia
32 54= BROWN University United States
33= 50= University of BRITISH COLUMBIA Canada
33= 45 University of QUEENSLAND Australia
33= 19= National University of SINGAPORE Singapore
36 14 PEKING University China
37 64= University of BRISTOL United Kingdom
38= 50= The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
38= 29= University of MICHIGAN United States
40 28 TSINGHUA University China

41 31 University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States
42 24 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland
43 38 MONASH University Australia
44 41 University of NEW SOUTH WALES Australia
45 27 University of TORONTO Canada
46 70= OSAKA University Japan
47 66 BOSTON University United States
48 69 University of AMSTERDAM Netherlands
49 43 NEW YORK University (NYU) United States
50 46= The University of AUCKLAND New Zealand

51= 63 SEOUL National University Korea, South
51= 32 University of TEXAS at Austin United States
53= 58= HONG KONG University of Science & Technology Hong Kong
53= 78 TRINITY College Dublin Ireland
55= 84 University of WASHINGTON United States
55= 79= University of WISCONSIN-Madison United States
57 73 University of WARWICK United Kingdom
58 44 University of CALIFORNIA, San Diego United States
59 17 LONDON School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom
60 58= HEIDELBERG University Germany

61 96 Katholieke Universiteit LEUVEN Belgium
62 105= University of ADELAIDE Australia
63 86 DELFT University of Technology Netherlands
64 111= University of WESTERN AUSTRALIA Australia
65= 90= University of BIRMINGHAM United Kingdom
65= 98 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (MUNICH) Germany
67 82= Technische Universität MÜNCHEN Germany
68 102= University of SHEFFIELD United Kingdom
69 61= NANYANG Technological University Singapore
70 85 University of NOTTINGHAM United Kingdom

71= 61= DARTMOUTH College United States
71= 111= UPPSALA University Sweden
73 77 University of ILLINOIS United States
74= 56 EMORY University United States
74= 124= University of YORK United Kingdom
76 109= University of ST ANDREWS United Kingdom
77= 88 University of PITTSBURGH United States
77= 127 PURDUE University United States
79 111= University of MARYLAND United States
80= 121 University of LEEDS United Kingdom
80= 141= University of SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom

82 53 VANDERBILT University United States
83 81 University of GLASGOW United Kingdom
84 90= LEIDEN University Netherlands
85= 60 CASE WESTERN RESERVE University United States
85= 116= FUDAN University China
85= 87 University of VIENNA Austria
88 176 QUEEN'S University Canada
89 95 UTRECHT University Netherlands
90= 99= PENNSYLVANIA STATE University United States
90= 118 TOKYO Institute of Technology Japan

92 102= RICE University United States
93= 54= University of COPENHAGEN Denmark
93= 181= University of MONTREAL Canada
95 48= University of ROCHESTER United States
96 170= University of CALIFORNIA, Davis United States
97= 133= University of ALBERTA Canada
97= 145 GEORGIA Institute of Technology United States
99 141= CARDIFF University United Kingdom
100 116= University of HELSINKI Finland

101 139 University of LIVERPOOL United Kingdom
102= 102= GEORGETOWN University United States
102= 108 National TAIWAN University Taiwan
102= 168= TOHOKU University Japan
105 39 University of GENEVA Switzerland
106 122 LUND University Sweden
107 211= University of COLORADO United States
108 155 MCMASTER University Canada
109 132 DURHAM University United Kingdom
110 130= University of VIRGINIA United States

111 172= MAASTRICHT University Netherlands
112= 128= NAGOYA University Japan
112= 204= University of WATERLOO Canada
114= 126 University of AARHUS Denmark
114= 75 University of BASEL Switzerland
114= 79= University of OTAGO New Zealand
117= 141= University of CALIFORNIA, Santa Barbara United States
117= 64= Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE Switzerland
119 101 University of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA United States
120 219= OHIO STATE University United States

121 105= University of SUSSEX United Kingdom
122 150= TEXAS A&M University United States
123 76 Université Catholique de LOUVAIN (UCL) Belgium
124 141= University of GHENT Belgium
125 180 NANJING University China
126= 105= HUMBOLDT-Universität zu Berlin Germany
126= 215= University of WESTERN ONTARIO Canada
128 119 Hebrew University of JERUSALEM Israel
129 133= NEWCASTLE University, NEWCASTLE Upon Tyne United Kingdom
130= 194 Technical University of DENMARK Denmark
130= 67 EINDHOVEN University of Technology Netherlands

132= 198= KOREA Advanced Institute of Science & Technology Korea, South
132= 93= Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie - PARIS VI France
134 224= University of ARIZONA United States
135 226= University of FLORIDA United States
136 128= KYUSHU University Japan
137= 195 University of ABERDEEN United Kingdom
137= 232= INDIANA University Bloomington United States
139 282= SIMON FRASER University Canada
140= 198= University of CALIFORNIA, Irvine United States
140= 109= University of ZURICH Switzerland

142= 187= University of MINNESOTA United States
142= 170= Universität TÜBINGEN Germany
144 219= Universität FREIBURG Germany
145 153 University of BATH United Kingdom
146 149 Freie Universität BERLIN Germany
147 228= University of LANCASTER United Kingdom
148 97 WAGENINGEN University Netherlands
149= 154 CITY University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
149= 99= Queen Mary, University of LONDON United Kingdom

151= 133= HOKKAIDO University Japan
151= 123 University of NORTH CAROLINA United States
151= 147= TEL AVIV University Israel
154 165= Université Libre de BRUXELLES (ULB) Belgium
155= 165= University of Science and Technology of CHINA China
155= 152 University of NOTRE DAME United States
157 72 Ecole Normale Supérieure de LYON France
158 140 CRANFIELD University United Kingdom
159= 163 MICHIGAN STATE University United States
159= 130= TUFTS University United States

161= 120 KEIO University Japan
161= 48= WASHINGTON University in St. Louis United States
163= 92 ERASMUS University Rotterdam Netherlands
163= 179 SHANGHAI JIAO TONG University China
165 201= Universität STUTTGART Germany
166= 266= University of CALGARY Canada
166= 138 VIENNA University of Technology Austria
168= 156= Universität GÖTTINGEN Germany
168= 82= MACQUARIE University Australia
170 291 HELSINKI University of Technology - TKK Finland

171= 238 University of DUNDEE United Kingdom
171= 222= Universität KARLSRUHE Germany
173= 207= University of BOLOGNA Italy
173= 232= University of GRONINGEN Netherlands
175= 124= University of MASSACHUSETTS, Amherst United States
175= 284= University of SAO PAULO Brazil
177= 448 University of CAMPINAS (Unicamp) Brazil
177= 219= University College DUBLIN Ireland
177= 215= RUTGERS, The State University of New Jersey United States

180= 190= University of READING United Kingdom
180= 158= WASEDA University Japan
182 172= Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule AACHEN Germany
183 197 Università degli Studi di ROMA - La Sapienza Italy
184 161= Université Louis Pasteur - STRASBOURG I France
185= 239= University of LEICESTER United Kingdom
185= 115 University of TWENTE Netherlands
187 252= University of ANTWERP Belgium
188= 333= University of CANTERBURY New Zealand
188= 177 University of OSLO Norway
190 258= University of SURREY United Kingdom

191 255= RENSSELAER Polytechnic Institute United States
192= 172= KTH, ROYAL Institute of Technology Sweden
192= 74 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Mexico
194 190= University of BARCELONA Spain
195= 137 Radboud Universiteit NIJMEGEN Netherlands
195= 192= QUEENSLAND University of Technology Australia
197= 147= CHALMERS University of Technology Sweden
197= 181= KOBE University Japan
199 196 University of WOLLONGONG Australia
200= 257 University of CAPE TOWN South Africa
200= 146 RMIT University Australia

World's Best by UP Professor Michael Tan

(Published on Page A15 of the October 25, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

World's Top Universities
001-200
200-520

SOME time back, i wrote about the ratings of Asian universities given by Asiaweek magazine. Sadly, Asiaweek has closed down, so I thought we would no longer be able to compare universities in the region.

But it turns out that there are global surveys as well, one of which was just released last Oct. 5. This is the Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS) World University Rankings. With thousands of universities in the world, it is an honor to make it to this list, which is based on several criteria, including faculty-to-student ratios and ratings given by more than 3,000 academicians and 700 leading international employment recruiters.

How did the Philippines fare? I'm going to keep you in suspense and just say, for now, that four of our universities did make it to the top 500 universities.

Global ranks

Let's look first at the THES-QS list of 20 leading universities. Note that there are ties so there might be occasional skipping of numbers: Harvard (1st), Cambridge (2nd), Oxford (3rd), Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale (tying for 4th), Stanford (6th), California Institute of Technology (7th), University of California in Berkeley (8th), Imperial College London (9th), Princeton (10th), University of Chicago (11th), Columbia (12th), Duke (13th), Beijing University (14th), Cornell (15th), Australian National University (16th), London School of Economics (17th), Ecole Normale Superieure (18th), National University of Singapore and Tokyo University (tying for 19th).

Most of the universities are American and British, but there is also representation from Australia, France, China, Singapore and Japan. Most of the leading American universities are private; in fact, on that top 20 list, the University of California Berkeley is the only American public institution. When I went on to the top 500 universities, I found that in all countries of the world, with the glaring exception of the United States and one other country (which I'll name later but which you may have guessed), state universities lead in the rankings.

Asia's best

I decided to pull out the Asian (to include Australian) universities from the THES-QS list and found that among the world's 500 leading universities, 90 are from Asia. Japan leads with 28, followed by China (including Hong Kong) with 16, Taiwan with 8, South Korea and Thailand with 7 each, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines with 4 each, Australia with 3, Singapore with 2 and Bangladesh with one.

Do be careful with those figures since it's not just a numbers game. Australia and Singapore have few universities on the list, but they are all high up in the ranking.

Enough with the suspense. Let's look at how the Philippines did. The University of the Philippines (UP) came in 299th globally and 47th among Asian universities. I have to say that's not too bad, considering how UP has had to plod along with shrinking budgets and with the flight of so many good professors. Trailing behind UP were three private universities: De La Salle (392nd), Ateneo de Manila (484th) and, talk about a photo finish, the University of Santo Tomas at 500th.

Lessons

Instead of bombarding you with more numbers, I'm going to analyze those rankings and spell out three important implications for our own educational system.

First, you don't need to be a rich country to have good universities, India being the best example. Even before independence, Indian nationalists had formed a commission to plan out their future and early on, they sought to form a network of science and technology institutions. After independence, funds were put in to establish a whole network, with several Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses. IIT ranked 57th in the THES-QS global list.

Indonesia, a country less developed than the Philippines, is another example. It had three universities, all state-run, beating us in rankings: University of Indonesia (250th), Bandung Institute of Technology (258th) and University of Gadja Mada (270th).

Second, the other countries seem to recognize that excellence in education must be spread out throughout the country. Note that our four best universities are all in Metro Manila. In contrast, the Indian Institute of Technology has campuses in several states, all of which fared quite well when Asiaweek rated each unit back in 2000. The three Indonesian universities I just named are all on the island of Java, but at least they're found not just in the capital, Jakarta, but also in Bandung and Yogyakarta.

Thailand's best universities -- Chulalongkorn, Thammasat, Mahidol, Kasatsart, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Prince of Songkla -- are all state universities and they are located in different parts of the country.

Third (and I've made this point time and time again), the state needs to invest in universities. The THES list is clear in showing that, with the exception of the United States and the Philippines, the leading universities in every country are state-owned. Sure, UP is the leader in the Philippines, but in other countries, several state universities – not just one -- made it to the THES list.

Most governments in the world have the wisdom to look at education as something too important to leave to "free market forces" (read: "profit"). Unless we learn from them, we will continue to see more diploma mills, more scandals in licensure exams and more Filipinos having to work overseas as cheap labor to develop other countries. Note that the THES-QS rankings also relate to international competitiveness, meaning if you graduate from those that lead in the rankings, you also stand a better chance of getting a well-paying international job.

UP is still among the world's best, but if we worked harder on the entire educational system, we should have more reason to be proud. Ultimately, we should be able to look at these university rankings as indicators of our current development strategies, as well as predictors of the country's future.

university of cambridge

australian national university

university of tokyo (hongo)

university of tokyo (komaba)

national university of singapore

university of melbourne

university of sydney

university of queensland

university of western australia

university of the philippines (diliman)

de la salle university

ateneo de manila university

university of santo tomas