In today’s competitive world, we all want to be the best in whichever field we aspire to major into as a career. This has been made possible by the advancement in technology that has gone forth to make the world a global village. Information can now be easily shared and people can work from anywhere and anywhere irrespective of their country of origin so long as they are the best in what they do. This has given rise to the demand for institutions of higher learning with every country investing a lot into its educational systems. Powered by Thomson Reuters, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings are the only global tables used to rank universities across various core missions that are globally accepted. Below, is the 2013 — 2014 list of the world’s best universities.
1: California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
United States. Found in Pasadena C.A in the United States, Caltech is a highly specialized science and engineering research and educational institution that has a student population of about 2,300 students and a 300 strong faculty. It manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as well as a network of research facilities and astronomical observatories with a global presence.
2: Oxford University
United Kingdom. The world’s third oldest existing university has about 12,000 undergraduates and offers a choice of 38 colleges. Some of its alumni include: 26 British prime ministers, 12 saints, 30 world leaders and 20 Canterbury archbishops.
3: Harvard University
United States. Named after its first benefactor, John Harvard, the institution was formed in 1636 and is America’s oldest academic institute. Among its bragging rights include the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, 23 satellites and a 210 acre main campus. The institution also has the largest global academy’s financial endowment.
4: Stanford University
United States. It was founded by railway tycoon Leland Stanford in 1891 in remembrance of his son who died aged only 16. The institution is the second most selective institute and only admits about 7% of its applicants. It is the world’s third richest university and has 7,000 undergraduates and only 4,000 graduate students. Some of the most famous achievements by its alumni include Google and Hewlett-Packard.
5: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
United States. Eight members of its current faculty are Nobel laureates alongside 63 others who are also its alumni. More than 150 years old, on its main campus, it has 10,000 students learning architecture and planning: humanities, arts, engineering, technology, medical and social sciences.
6: Princeton University
United States. Established in 1746, it has about 2,500 postgraduates and 5,000 undergraduates and over 1,100 academics in its 500 acre campus. It brags about 30 Nobel Laureates.
7: University of Cambridge
United Kingdom. Founded in 1209, some of it renowned alumni include: Turing’s prototype computer, Watson — DNA, Newton — Laws and motion, and Rutherford — atom splitting, Darwin — evolution. It has more than 18,300 students and 8,500 staff.
8: University of California, Berkeley
United States. The institute was chartered in 1868 and some of its achievements include, drafting of America’s first no-fault divorce law and identification of Vitamin E and the flu virus. It has over 36,000 students.
9: University of Chicago
United States. Founded in 1890 and with over 125 research centers, this is one of the institutes that have fewer undergraduates than postgraduates. Its core mission is advanced academic exploration. It created the first man made nuclear reaction that was self — sustained.
10: Imperial College London
United Kingdom. Founded in 1907, it was a university of London’s constituent college. The institute has four faculties that all have emphasis on research. This are business, medicine, engineering and natural science. With a total of 8 campuses, it has about 13,000 students and 1,200 scholars.
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