times higher education ranking university

THE's Arab University Rankings 2024 are out now. Browse the full results

.css-s3jszv{background:linear-gradient(225deg, #4352ff 15%, #de1b7c 86%, #fe4537 99%);-webkit-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;-webkit-background-clip:text;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;-webkit-text-fill-color:transparent;color:transparent;}.css-s3jszv::after{content:'\a';white-space:pre;} Empowering Global Higher Education

Times higher education is the winner of the prestigious king's award for enterprise for international trade 2024.

Find out more

Daily news and analysis for global higher education

The world’s most comprehensive university rankings

THE Campus brings together insight and advice for academics and university staff daily

Connecting the higher education community

THE Student supports you, from first university search to your first day on campus

Higher education’s global job board

Helping leaders make better decisions

Services for universities, governments and corporates

Our Partners

Inside higher ed.

News, jobs and services for US higher education

BMI Global Ed

Leading global organiser of in-person and digital international student recruitment events

Data-led insights for the UK higher education sector

Poets&Quants

Leading provider of news and resources for prospective business students worldwide

The Education World Forum

The world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers

Latest news

.css-1bv2u8{overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;max-height:90px;text-indent:0px;} Academic Twitter is dead, says Cambridge PhD trolled over thesis

OfS register pause ‘will make sector financial problems worse’

Times Higher Education Awards Arab World 2024: winners announced

Collaborate to educate refugees, universities urged

Latest rankings.

Study abroad

.css-1bv2u8{overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;max-height:90px;text-indent:0px;} Best universities in Sub-Saharan Africa 2024

Best universities in Turkey 2025

Best universities in Sweden 2025

Best universities in Switzerland 2025

Latest jobs.

47 jobs available

856 jobs available

495 jobs available

Middle East

185 jobs available

North America

30901 jobs available

218 jobs available

South America

0 jobs available

United Kingdom

248 jobs available

Looking for the next step in your career?

Latest resources

.css-1bv2u8{overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;max-height:90px;text-indent:0px;} let me introduce you to the art of saying hello, it’s time to turn the tide on our clean energy ambitions, we need to dismantle the promotion patriarchy in academia from the inside, productive disagreement is our best hope of tackling the climate crisis, start the journey of anti-colonial work with these first steps, strategies to move universities to net zero, subscribe: your source of the latest news and analysis from across academia. subscribe today to enjoy full, unrestricted digital access to times higher education content, our solutions: we can become an extension of your team and advise practical strategies for optimisation and advancement., world university rankings 2024: time to submit your data to gain a place in the world university rankings., rankings membership: enhance rankings participation with exclusive access to branding assets, training workshops and a network of experts..

QS vs Times - Which is the Best University League Table?

DECIDING which university you would like to study at, or where you should apply, can be stressful for some people. Sometimes it’s difficult to find out the price of the course that you would like to study, or whether you could be able to get a scholarship (if you need it). It can even be hard to tell if the university you have been thinking of applying to has a good reputation.

Many people use university league tables to find the best universities they can apply for. Two of the most popular for international students are the QS University Rankings , or the ones from the Times Higher Education (THE). However, there are differences between these world league tables, and some people benefit more from one than from the other.

Types of university league table

There are two main types of league table. First, you will find general rankings of all universities in the world, which can be listed in order of reputation, subject expertise, best faculties, or best location. Then, you will find regional ranking tables that focus on a specific geographical area, like the ones ranking universities from the BRICS, Arab, Emerging Economies, Asian, EECA or Latin American regions. Both QS and the Times have a selection of international and regional tables; the former has the highest number of rankings, with 9 types, whereas the latter has 6.

The World Tables

Both QS and the Times have an international, world ranking for universities – but they use different methodologies for creating them. This can drastically change the results, and consequently, your choice of university.

For QS, the most important variable seems to be academic reputation, which carries a weighting of 40% in their World Rankings, and 30% in their Regional rankings. For the Times, their Academic Reputation Survey takes up slightly less of the weighting in their World Rankings, at 32%. This means that, if reputation is high on your list of priorities, QS could be the better option.

There are also differences for the remaining 60-70% of the result. To complete their ranking, QS looks at a university’s faculty-to-student ratio, the number of times its faculty are cited in academic publications, employer reputation, and the ratio of international to native students. By comparison, the Times uses more indicators like industry income (or ‘knowledge transfer’), international outlook and research productivity. This arguably makes the Times league table better for those interested in universities that are innovative and multi-cultural, as well as prestigious.

The 50 Under 50 League Table

The Times and QS rankings for universities less than 50 years old are very valuable for those people who seek for good education but at a lower price, as young universities tend to charge lower fees. But which table is better?

The Times methodology uses the same 13 indicators as their World Rankings, but they adjust the criteria to show the special characteristics of younger universities; for example, they give less weight to academic reputation. On the other hand, QS league table of universities under 50 years old does uses the same methodology as their World Rankings. This means that newer universities could be poorly represented in the QS table, as their system does not highlight the strengths that usually attract people to young schools rather than their older, more well-known rivals.

The Regional Tables

Another ranking that both institutions have in common is the one for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). In this case, it seems that both institutions have followed the same path. The Times has used the same 13 indicators, but have given less weight to research excellence due to less mature research systems in developing countries. They have also given more weight to international outlook and industry links. This seems to be the same approach as QS: their BRIC table takes less notice of citations and papers written per faculty, but more notice of employer reputation, which accounts for 20% of the weighting. In this regard, both BRICS tables are very similar.

QS has more regional league tables than the Times, like ones exclusive for the Arab Region, EECA (Emerging Europe and Central Asia), Latin America, and even one for Best Student City. This could give QS the edge if you want to see the rankings for universities in a particular country, or want to know more about its location.

Which is better - QS vs Times?

It seems that the league tables from the Times, in general, have better methodologies than QS; especially for their ranking of universities under 50 years old. However, QS has more tables to look at, giving you more insight into specific courses, regions and developing countries. If you want a general, international overview, the Times has its strengths – but QS has the upper hand if you want to look up something niche.

One thing seems to be absolutely true about these league tables: reputation is the main factor that decides whether a university will be top of the ranking or not. It’s important to remember this. While reputation can be important, it won’t be the only thing that makes a university a good fit for you– and just because a university is less well-known does not mean it will be any less worthwhile.

Need more help deciding which degree to study? Check out our huge Courses section, with guides on subjects from Art to Accounting!

• Share on twitter
• Share on facebook

World University Rankings 2023

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023 include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date.

The table is based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

This year’s ranking analysed over 121 million citations across more than 15.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 40,000 scholars globally. Overall, we collected over 680,000 datapoints from more than 2,500 institutions that submitted data.

Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, this year’s league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting.

View the World University Rankings 2023 methodology

The University of Oxford tops the ranking for the seventh consecutive year. Harvard University remains in second place, but the University of Cambridge jumps from joint fifth last year to joint third.

The highest new entry is Italy’s Humanitas University, ranked in the 201-250 bracket.

The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).

Mainland China now has the fourth-highest number of institutions in the top 200 (11, compared with 10 last year), having overtaken Australia, which has dropped to fifth (joint with the Netherlands).

Five countries enter the ranking for the first time – all of them in Africa (Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mauritius).

Harvard tops the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.

Overall, 1,799 universities are ranked. A further 546 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet our eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table.

Read our analysis of the World University Rankings 2023 results

Download a copy of the World University Rankings 2023 digital report

To raise your university’s global profile with Times Higher Education , contact [email protected]

To unlock the data behind THE ’s rankings and access a range of analytical and benchmarking tools, click here

• Share on linkedin
• Share on mail

Read more about the World University Rankings 2023

Student insights.

• Best universities in the world
• Best universities in the UK
• Best universities in the United States
• Best universities in Canada
• Best universities in Australia
• Best universities in Europe
• Best universities in the Netherlands
• Best universities in France
• Best universities in Germany
• Best universities in Malaysia
• Best universities in South Korea

Academic Insights

• World University Rankings 2023: results announced
• World University Rankings 2023: African sector improving rapidly
• World University Rankings 2023: US stagnating, Oceania rising, and a weak point for China
• World University Rankings 2023: the opportunities and threats ahead
• World University Rankings 2023: top marks for Australian sector
• Underfunding basic research is a recipe for disaster
• Society benefits from industry partnerships – but there are provisos
• Universities must innovate new kinds of learning for students of all ages
• The future of global research collaboration is rocky
• Talking Leadership 44: Alice Gast on championing ‘risk-taking’ foreign students
• The half-life of knowledge
• How can universities leverage their pandemic reputation boost?
• Our task for the future: global education for all
• World University Rankings 2023: trends in research
• World University Rankings 2023: trends in teaching
• World University Rankings 2023: trends in international outlook
• World University Rankings 2023: trends in working with industry
• Talking Leadership 45: Andrew Hamilton on the trajectory of higher education
• European universities tentatively embrace working with industry
• Talking leadership 46: Louise Richardson on academic precarity and elitism
• Rankings are changing: WUR 3.0 will be more robust and insightful
• Talking leadership 47: Stephen Toope on culture wars and collaboration

Methodology:

Featured jobs

Featured universities.