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Times Higher Education THE World University Rankings 2015-2016: Summary of Biggest Movers and Achievers

THE World University Rankings 2015-2016 or Times World University Rankings 2015-2016 out now. Millions of students across world are curious to know THE World University Rankings 2015-2016 to know Top Ranking Universities list in the world. Finally, here is the list of Top Ranking Universities in Session 2015-2016. Students from various countries are searching for same query “World University Ranking 2015” with different keywords like Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015, World University Rankings 2016, THE World University Rankings, Top Universities in the world as well as Canada University Ranking 2016 TIMES Higher Education, Oxford University Ranking Times 2016, US University Rankings, THE University Ranking in US, UK University Ranking, QS University Ranking in UK, Latest World University Rankings, etc.

QS, and Times Higher Education decide the rankings of universities across the world every year. This year also, these two organizations finalized the indexed the names of Universities according to the Rankings released in 2016.

In this article, I will provide you information about Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-16.

Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015/2016: Summary and a Snapshot of the Biggest Movers & Achievers – UK Universities

The World University Rankings for 2015-2016 has been published (officially on 1st October). This is something almost every aspiring international student keeps waiting for. Of course the university ranking is not always the most critical factor for a student while choosing a university. But, it does play a vital role in the final decision making. Just like grades is an indicator for a recent university graduate about how s/he is going to perform in the professional field (job or Ph.D research); university rankings are also an indicator about the overall quality of a university.

THE World University Rankings 2015-2016
THE World University Rankings 2015-2016

Times Higher Education THE World University Rankings 2015-2016:-

Like last year, US universities dominate the overall rankings. 147 US universities feature in the top 800 in the world, with California Institute of Technology (Caltech) claiming the top position; followed by Stanford University, MIT, Harvard University, Princeton University and University of Chicago. But, the US continues to lose its grip – 66 US universities feature in the top 200 in 2016, down from 74 in 2015 and 77 in 2014. While the downfall might not look that significant, but the trend is pretty clear.

THE World University Rankings 2015-2016
THE World University Rankings 2015-2016

Table 1: World University Rankings 2015-2016: Top 10 (Source: Times Higher Education)

The National University of Singapore (NUS) that ranks at 26 in the overall table becomes best in Asia. The 2nd and 3rd best have been Peking University (42) and The University of Tokyo (43). Overall Japan and South Korea have lost some glory, but they still have got the depth and punch in teaching and research. Unfortunately no Indian institute has been able to come within the top 200; and the major reasons include lack of quality research output and knowledge transfer. However, 17 Indian institutes have been featured in the top 800.

Indian Institute

India Rank

World Rank

IISc Bangalore

1

251 – 300

IIT Bombay

2 351 – 400

IIT Delhi

3

401 – 500

IIT Kharagpur

4 401 – 500
IIT Madras 5

401 – 500

IIT Guwahati 6

501 – 600

IIT Kanpur

7 501 – 600
IIT Roorkee 8

501 – 600

Jadavpur University (Kolkata) 9

501 – 600

Panjab University (Chandigarh)

10 501 – 600
Aligarh Muslim University (Aligarh) 11 601 – 800

Amrita University (Coimbatore)

12 601 – 800

Andhra University (Visakhapatnam)

13

601 – 800

BITS Pilani (Hyderabad) 14

601 – 800

University of Calcutta

15

601 – 800

University of Delhi 16

601 – 800

Savitribai Phuli Pune University 17 601 – 800

Table 2: Top Indian Institutes (2015-2016)

Europe has done considerably well with 345 European universities among the top 800. The top countries have been UK, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. 20 German universities and 12 Dutch universities have featured in the top 200. ETH Zurich (9th in the world) has been the pride for Switzerland. LMU Munich (29), Heidelberg University (37), Humboldt University of Berlin (49), TU Munich (53), Free University of Berlin (72) take the top spots for Germany; while Wageningen University and Research Center (47), University of Amsterdam (58), Utrecht University (62) TU Delft (65) and Leiden University (67) have been the top performers for the Netherlands. According to Simon Marginson, professor of international higher education at the UCL Institute of Education, the key factors behind Europe’s glory have been the European Research grant programs, the Bologna Process, and strategic policies for immigration and recruitment.

The biggest achiever and mover in the world rankings have been the UK universities. UK has always been a tough competitor for US when it comes to international education. 78 UK universities rank within the top 800, with 34 among best 200 in the world.

UK Rank 2016 University World Rank 2016 World Rank 2015
1 University of Oxford 2 3
2 University of Cambridge 4 5
3 Imperial College London 8 9
4 University College London 14 22
5 London School of Economics and Political Science 23 34
6 University of Edinburgh 24 36
7 King’s College London 27 40
8 University of Manchester 56 52
9 University of Bristol 69 74
10 University of Durham 70 83
11 University of Glasgow 76 94
12 University of Warwick 80 103
13 University of St. Andrews 86 111
14 University of Exeter 93 154
15 University of Sheffield 97 121
16 Queen Mary University of London 98 107
17 University of Southampton 110 132
18 University of Birmingham 119 148
19 Royal Holloway, University of London 129 118
20 Lancaster University 130 131
21 University of York 131 113
22 University of  Leeds 133 146
23 University of Sussex 140 111
24 University of Nottingham 143 171
25 University of East Anglia 149 198

Table 3: Top 25 UK Universities

It is pretty clear that almost the UK universities have made significant improvements in the world ranking. The top 10 institutes like Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, UCL and LSE have crawled towards the top; the only exception in the trend has been University of Manchester, which dropped from 52nd to 56th position globally. The biggest movers are clearly institutes like University of Exeter (rose to 93rd from 154th), University of Sheffield (97th from 121st) and University of St. Andrews as they stormed in to the top 100. University of Glasgow and University of Warwick strengthened their positions as they leapt 18 and 23 places respectively. University of Bristol, University of Durham and Queen Mary University of London have been slow movers though. Another two shining movers have been University of Nottingham and University of East Anglia as they tightened their grip within the top 1% of the world universities.

However, the biggest achievers are definitely the modern (or newly established) UK universities. The 2015-2016 ranking has probed deeper than ever, owing to more comprehensive data and of course the Big Data Analytics; THE has pulled off the largest THE rankings to date – as 800 universities get featured in the list compared to 400 in the last year. The biggest impact has been that the modern universities, which have been doing considerably well in the areas of teaching, industry tie-ups, graduate employ-ability – they got their due.

University World Rank 2016 International Outlook Industry Income Research % International Students Year of Establishment / Gaining University Status
De Montfort University 501 – 600 58.4 28.5 10.1 21 1992
University of Hertfordshire 501 – 600 78.9 29.3 9.5 27 1952
Liverpool John Moores University 501 – 600 62.1 28.8 11.6 13 1992
Manchester Metropolitan University 501 – 600 57.8 28.3 10.6 14 1992
University of Bradford 601 – 800 79.1 32.7 15.9 32 1966
University of Brighton 601 – 800 62.8 29.4 10.7 19 1992
University of Central Lancashire 601 – 800 54.1 28.9 9.4 17 1992
Coventry University 601 – 800 69.6 29.1 7.7 35 1992
Glasgow Caledonian University 601 – 800 55 29.9 10.4 16 1993
University of Greenwich 601 – 800 81.8 30 9.5 32 1992
University of Huddersfield 601 – 800 55.2 28 5.4 25 1992
Kingston University 601 – 800 76.8 28.5 12.1 34 1992
University of Lincoln 601 – 800 60.5 29.3 11.9 11 1992 / 2001
Middlesex University 601 – 800 81 10.6 44 1992
Northumbria University 601 – 800 55.1 29.1 10.9 16 1992
Nottingham Trent University 601 – 800 52.7 28.4 8.9 18 1992
University of Salford 601 – 800 66.4 28.8 12.1 25 1967
Sheffield Hallam University 601 – 800 47 28.6 9.4 15 1992
University of the West of England 601 – 800 48.5 28.5 11.2 15 1992
University of Westminster 601 – 800 81.9 28.5 11.7 43 1992

Table 4: Best Modern (New-Age) UK Universities

Due to limitation in the ranking places, competition within the UK universities and presence of age-old prestigious universities, the new age UK universities always lacked the international rankings. The above table clearly shows that those 20 odd universities rank within top 800 in the world. They might not be the best among the best in the UK – mainly because they were set up very recently in comparison to prestigious universities like University of Oxford (1165), University of Cambridge (1209), University of St. Andrews (1410), University of Glasgow (1451), University of Aberdeen (1495), or University of Edinburgh (1583). Most of the modern UK universities got their university status in 1992. Secondly, they are not primarily research-based universities yet.

THE ranking system considers the following criterion and weighted values while ranking –

  • Teaching (30%)
  • Research (30%)
  • Citations (30%)
  • International Outlook (7.5%)
  • Industry Income (2.5%)

The modern universities do lag behind in the research and citation areas. But, universities like De Montfort, Coventry, Northumbria, Sheffield-Hallam, Salford, Greenwich, Huddersfield, Kingston, UWE Bristol, Glasgow Caledonian and others deserve praise when it comes to teaching, international outlook, industry relevant courses, placements and graduate employability. The same issue has been discussed before in the blog Ranking & Reputation of University. It is heartening to see those universities feature in this elite table, and it is only fair for them to have an international ranking.

Due to the current visa rules, Indian students avoid UK for higher studies. They refuse the universities that rank within the top 800 in the world. They choose to study at an institute (in another country) that might rank in top 2000 or top 3000 in the world – just because that country has got 1 year or 2 years of stay-back option. It is a fact that as an international student the Post-Study Work option is very important in order to pay back the high fees. But, it should not be the main rationale behind while choosing a university. I hope this new ranking will definitely encourage few students and make them consider all the factors. At the end of the day, it is important to get a good education and training in order to be successful. Rankings, reputation and stay-back options should always come later.

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