List of the Best Universities in the World in 2024 | Times Higher Education (THE)

Not sure where you want to study? The Times Higher Education 2024 ranking of the world’s best universities can help you choose a university

Entering its 20th year,  the Times Higher Education world university rankings  compare nearly 2,000 universities from more than 100 regions and countries, providing you with one of the most respected reviews of higher education institutions worldwide. Wherever you plan to apply, these rankings can guide your decision.

 

Let’s continue reading to see which universities are included in the list of the best universities in the world according to  the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2024 .

 

What is the summary of the best universities in the world in 2024?

The University of Oxford  in the UK remains the top university in the world, according to the latest THE World University Rankings 2024. This is the eighth year in a row that Oxford  has taken first place in THE rankings, leading a top 10 ranking consisting only of universities from the UK and USA. Although each of these universities also appeared in the top 10 last year, Oxford was the only one to remain in exactly the same position. Stanford University managed to move up one place to 2nd place this year, followed by MIT in 3rd place, which also rose 2 positions from last year.

 

Nationally, the United States appeared strongest. The majority of institutions in the top 10 and top 30 are located in the country, and it is also home to more than a quarter of the top 200. England also performed well. More than 10 percent of the top 100 universities are found in the country, and one in eight of the top 200.

 

However, this is a global ranking, and as a result, it also recommends universities in many other countries. Before we discuss this, here are the complete top 10 from  the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings :

Top 10 Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024

Rating	University	Country	Change
1	University of Oxford	UK	–
2	Stanford University	USA	Up 1
3	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	USA	Up 2
4	Harvard University	USA	Down 2
5	University of Cambridge	UK	Down 2
6	Princeton University	USA	Up 1
7	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	USA	Down 1
8	Imperial College London	UK	Up 2
9	University of California, Berkeley	USA	Down 1
10	Yale University	USA	Down 1

Which Countries Are Performing Well in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024?

Outside of the United States and England, there are still other countries full of high-quality universities. In the top 30 alone, six other countries are represented, with many more on the verge of making the list.

The success of Chinese universities is especially striking. Six years ago, the country had just two institutions in the top 100, but now it has seven. As confirmation, their two highest ranked universities have risen several places within the top 20. In the space of one year, Peking University has risen from 17th to 14th, while Tsinghua University has moved from 16th to 12th.

Overall, Asia is finding a lot of success. The continent has a total of 737 universities on the full list – more than any other – with some highly ranked. Also in the top 30 are the National University of Singapore (19th) and the University of Tokyo (29th). The latter is one of 119 Japanese universities in the ranking, a figure surpassed only by the United States.

Mainland Europe is also home to some of Times Higher Education’s top universities. ETH Zurich in Switzerland, which is ranked 11th, is the highest-ranked institution outside the UK and USA. Elsewhere, the Technical University of Munich in Germany rose eight places to fill 30th place – the biggest rise in this section of the list.

The following are the top 30 best universities in the world based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024:

Rating	University	Country	Change
11	ETH Zurich	Switzerland	–
12	Tsinghua University	China	Up 4
13	University of Chicago	USA	–
14	Peking University	China	Up 3
15	Johns Hopkins University	USA	–
16	University of Pennsylvania	USA	Down 2
17	Columbia University	USA	Down 6
18	University of California, Los Angeles	USA	Up 3
19	National University of Singapore (NUS)	Singapore	–
20	Cornell University	USA	–
21	University of Toronto	Canada	Down 3
22	UCL (University College London)	UK	–
23	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	USA	Up 1
24	Carnegie Mellon University	USA	Up 4
25	University of Washington	USA	Up 1
26	Duke University	USA	Down 3
27	New York University (NYU)	USA	Down 1
28	Northwestern University	USA	Down 4
29	University of Tokyo	Japan	Up 6
=30	University of Edinburgh	UK	–
=30	Technical University of Munich	German	Up 8

 

How are the Times Higher Education rankings compiled?

THE rankings for 2024 are based on university performance in five different areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. It is measured using 18 performance indicators, all of which are weighted for their contribution to each university’s overall score. Here are the details:

• Teaching:  29.5%
• Teaching reputation: 15%
• Staff to student ratio: 4.5%
• Doctoral to undergraduate ratio: 2%
• Ratio of awarded doctorates to academic staff: 5.5%
• Institutional income: 2.5%

 

• Research Environment:  29%
• Research reputation: 18%
• Research income: 5.5%
• Research productivity: 5.5%

 

• Research Quality:  30%
• Citation impact: 15%
• Research strength: 5%
• Research brilliance: 5%
• Research influence: 5%

 

• Industry:  4%
• Industry income: 2%
• Patents: 2%

 

• International Outlook:  7.5%
• Proportion of international students: 2.5%
• Proportion of international staff: 2.5%
• International collaboration: 2.5%
• Study abroad: 0%

Other university rankings besides the Times Higher Education World University Rankings?

There are several other university rankings that can help you decide where to study. The QS World University Rankings for 2024  were released earlier this year, and provided slightly different results. If you want to study in the UK, you might also be interested in  the Complete University Guide League Tables , which are updated every year.