OXFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 08:  Students walk past the Radcliffe Camera building in Oxford city centre as Oxford University commences its academic year on October 8, 2009 in Oxford, England. Oxford University has a student population in excess of 20,000 taken from over 140 countries around the world. The University is made up of 38 independent, self-governing colleges, three of which: University College, Balliol College, and Merton College, were established by the 13th century. According to the QS/Times High
Cover These are the best universities in the world according to the latest QS World Rankings (Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is still the reigning top university in the world while the National University of Singapore took the top honours in Asia

The annual QS World University Rankings have been announced for 2021 and while US and UK universities dominate most of the top spots, several universities in Asia have also made it to the top 50. The rankings started in 2004 and have since become a source to determine university performance.

Topping the annual QS list is reigning number one Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with UK’s University of Oxford and US’ Stanford University coming in second and third place. Other institutions that make up the top 10 include the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Imperial College London, ETH Zurich — Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, UCL and University of Chicago.

Similar to last year, the National University of Singapore (NUS) missed out on the top 10 and placed 11th. It still remains the highest-ranking Asian university on the list for the fourth consecutive year. Following in tow in the 12th place is Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Two universities in China also made it to the top 20 with Tsinghua University at 17th position and Peking University closely behind.

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The University of Hong Kong still holds its crown as the highest-ranked university in the city, ranking at 22nd place while the University of Tokyo follows closely at 23rd position together with the University of Michigan-Ann Arbour.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology makes it to the 34th spot—a deep fall from its 27th position last year while the Chinese University of Hong Kong places 39th, a small jump from its previous 43rd position. Closely ahead is South Korea’s Seoul National University at 36th place. The City University of Hong Kong missed out of the top 50 at 53rd place, a decrease from its 48th position last year.

The factors used for the QS ranking include academic reputation, employer reputation, student to faculty ratio, international student and faculty ratios and citations per faculty to give the institution an overall score.

See the full rankings at the official QS website here.

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