British universities have performed exceptionally well in the latest 2019 QS World University Rankings, with Oxford taking the lead to be termed as UK’s top-rated university.
Of the 76 UK universities included in the latest world university rankings, 41 have made significant progression while 14 remain status in quo. These can be credited to the increasing number of publications and citations of research by academics.
Despite the achievements, UK’s higher education sector faces challenges of growing class sizes and decreasing popularity among international students, particularly with the impending Brexit. In recent years, there has been a clear decline in faculty/student ratio and low contact hours; thereby resulting in enhanced scrutiny about students’ return on investment towards higher education. Further, the results also illustrated the sector’s struggle in convincing international students of the nation’s desirability in the first post-Brexit years.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retained its top position in the rankings for the seventh consecutive year; followed by Standford, Harvard and California Institute of Technology subsequently, whose ranks remain as unchanged.
Oxford leaped forward into the top five, successfully surpassing Cambridge which currently stands at the sixth position. Imperial College London maintained at the seventh place; while University College London stayed in the top 10 despite being outdone by the Swiss Federal Institute Technology and University of Chicago.
Outside the West, the highest-ranked universities were in Singapore and China. The National University of Singapore clinched the 11th position, while Nanyang Technological University stands at 12th place. China’s Tsinghua University climbed to 17th, well ahead of its competitor Peking University in 30th.
The QS world university rankings are generally considered to be the most methodologically sound in comparison to the other international league tables.
Source: The Guardian