Best Universities In The World [2024]

by Nilay Ozdemir | Last updated Sep 3, 2024 | Career Advice

The way that knowledge is used in politics is changing. The 19th annual edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, shows a growing trend: the US’s share of the world’s top 100 universities is going down, while universities in East Asia, led by China, and the Middle East are going up.

In 2024, reflecting on the Best Universities in the World 2023 offers valuable insights into the institutions that continue to set the standard for academic excellence, innovation, and global influence. This list highlights universities that excelled in various fields, from research output and teaching quality to international collaboration and student satisfaction. Whether you’re a prospective student looking to make an informed decision about where to study, or simply interested in understanding the global academic landscape, this guide provides a comprehensive overview of the top universities that shaped education in 2023. These institutions remain leaders in producing graduates who go on to make significant contributions to society and industry worldwide.

Rank	Name	Number of students	Number of students/staff	International students	Female/Male ratio
1	University of Oxford United Kingdom	20,967	10.6	42%	48 : 52
2	Harvard University United States	21,887	9.6	25%	50 : 50
=3	University of Cambridge United Kingdom	20,185	11.3	39%	47 : 53
=3	Stanford University United States	16,164	7.1	24%	46 : 54
5	Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States	11,415	8.2	33%	40 : 60
6	California Institute of Technology United States	2,237	6.2	34%	37 : 63
7	Princeton University United States	8,279	8.0	23%	46 : 54
8	University of California, Berkeley United States	40,921	18.4	24%	52 : 48
9	Yale University United States	13,482	5.9	21%	52 : 48
10	Imperial College London United Kingdom	18,544	11.2	61%	40 : 60
=11	Columbia University United States	21,781	4.5	38%	n/a
=11	ETH Zurich Switzerland	21,665	14.8	41%	33 : 67
13	The University of Chicago United States	15,366	6.0	36%	47 : 53
14	University of Pennsylvania United States	21,453	6.3	23%	53 : 47
15	Johns Hopkins University United States	17,584	4.7	29%	53 : 47
16	Tsinghua University China	38,324	11.6	10%	n/a
17	Peking University China	31,994	10.3	19%	n/a
18	University of Toronto Canada	77,468	25.8	26%	56 : 44
19	National University of Singapore Singapore	32,337	19.8	25%	51 : 49
20	Cornell University United States	24,027	10.3	26%	51 : 49
21	University of California, Los Angeles United States	42,434	9.7	16%	56 : 44
22	UCL United Kingdom	36,791	10.4	60%	59 : 41
23	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor United States	45,912	8.2	17%	50 : 50
24	New York University United States	36,337	9.8	42%	57 : 43
25	Duke University United States	16,091	4.2	24%	52 : 48
=26	Northwestern University United States	19,175	13.2	20%	51 : 49
=26	University of Washington United States	47,727	10.8	18%	55 : 45
28	Carnegie Mellon University United States	14,305	12.9	47%	44 : 56
29	University of Edinburgh United Kingdom	32,844	11.8	47%	62 : 38
30	Technical University of Munich Germany	33,960	40.6	36%	37 : 63
31	University of Hong Kong Hong Kong	18,087	18.2	43%	54 : 46
32	University of California, San Diego United States	37,030	11.3	28%	48 : 52
33	LMU Munich Germany	35,003	34.2	19%	61 : 39
34	University of Melbourne Australia	49,588	23.8	47%	58 : 42
35	King’s College London United Kingdom	28,967	11.8	52%	63 : 37
36	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore	24,651	15.1	25%	48 : 52
37	London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom	11,118	11.9	73%	55 : 45
38	Georgia Institute of Technology United States	28,826	24.7	40%	33 : 67
39	The University of Tokyo Japan	26,112	10.5	15%	n/a
40	University of British Columbia Canada	56,452	18.9	34%	55 : 45
41	École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland	11,641	12.3	62%	30 : 70
42	KU Leuven Belgium	47,663	36.5	18%	51 : 49
43	Heidelberg University Germany	19,347	13.5	21%	55 : 45
44	Monash University Australia	58,725	42.5	41%	57 : 43
45	Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong	18,468	19.0	21%	n/a
46	McGill University Canada	32,309	12.5	30%	60 : 40
47	Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris France	16,218	15.0	22%	51 : 49
48	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign United States	48,674	17.4	22%	48 : 52
49	Karolinska Institute Sweden	8,021	9.9	27%	70 : 30
50	University of Texas at Austin United States	49,171	17.4	10%	53 : 47
51	Fudan University China	36,318	11.9	9%	52 : 48
52	Shanghai Jiao Tong University China	37,478	11.5	8%	42 : 58
53	The University of Queensland Australia	41,372	34.2	41%	55 : 45
=54	University of Manchester United Kingdom	37,036	14.2	44%	55 : 45
=54	University of Sydney Australia	45,853	19.0	45%	58 : 42
56	Seoul National University South Korea	26,209	15.1	10%	n/a
57	Washington University in St Louis United States	14,420	7.8	24%	53 : 47
58	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong	9,864	21.0	32%	n/a
59	Wageningen University & Research Netherlands	15,404	18.6	27%	55 : 45
60	University of Amsterdam Netherlands	29,157	14.5	32%	59 : 41
61	Brown University United States	10,037	10.1	21%	n/a
62	Australian National University Australia	16,758	14.6	51%	52 : 48
63	University of California, Davis United States	37,639	13.1	18%	60 : 40
64	University of California, Santa Barbara United States	25,860	28.5	20%	54 : 46
65	University of Southern California United States	40,549	12.6	22%	49 : 51
66	Utrecht University Netherlands	32,532	17.1	13%	62 : 38
67	Zhejiang University China	46,124	12.0	16%	n/a
68	Kyoto University Japan	22,269	9.2	12%	25 : 75
69	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States	31,080	7.9	8%	59 : 41
70	Delft University of Technology Netherlands	20,299	16.1	31%	31 : 69
=71	Boston University United States	27,243	10.8	31%	59 : 41
=71	UNSW Sydney Australia	45,133	36.3	40%	47 : 53
73	Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Germany	8,429	18.0	21%	64 : 36
74	University of Science and Technology of China China	18,573	8.1	6%	n/a
75	University of Groningen Netherlands	30,009	24.4	28%	52 : 48
76	University of Bristol United Kingdom	25,679	14.6	31%	56 : 44
77	Leiden University Netherlands	33,648	19.3	20%	60 : 40
78	Yonsei University (Seoul campus) South Korea	19,481	14.7	17%	50 : 50
79	Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong	19,046	28.9	30%	51 : 49
80	Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands	31,668	33.9	22%	53 : 47
81	University of Wisconsin-Madison United States	40,701	10.0	14%	n/a
=82	Emory University United States	13,190	4.2	20%	60 : 40
=82	University of Glasgow United Kingdom	28,541	13.5	41%	59 : 41
=82	University of Zurich Switzerland	25,003	13.7	22%	56 : 44
85	McMaster University Canada	26,403	29.0	20%	56 : 44
=86	Humboldt University of Berlin Germany	34,399	53.2	17%	n/a
=86	University of Tübingen Germany	20,620	27.5	13%	59 : 41
88	University of Adelaide Australia	23,102	32.8	32%	49 : 51
89	University of Bonn Germany	27,210	47.5	17%	56 : 44
90	Sorbonne University France	41,443	13.9	21%	59 : 41
=91	Free University of Berlin Germany	26,497	41.9	23%	62 : 38
=91	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) South Korea	9,946	10.7	9%	21 : 79
93	Université Paris-Saclay France	44,443	14.9	19%	49 : 51
94	University of Bern Switzerland	11,728	17.2	17%	58 : 42
=95	University of California, Irvine United States	36,655	16.9	28%	52 : 48
=95	Institut Polytechnique de Paris France	5,999	6.7	41%	24 : 76
=95	Nanjing University China	36,426	16.5	8%	54 : 46
98	Vanderbilt University United States	12,696	3.8	15%	55 : 45
=99	City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong	9,099	12.1	62%	54 : 46
=99	RWTH Aachen University Germany	39,738	50.0	28%	33 : 67

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Nilay Ozdemir

I am Nilay, an experienced English Language Assessment Director at the International English Test, where I have been working full-time since February 2020. I specialize in helping people worldwide validate their English proficiency through comprehensive assessments and certifications.

Before joining the International English Test, I worked as a self-employed English Language Assessment Consultant from January 2015 to December 2019. During this time, I assisted companies and individuals in improving their language skills, helping them achieve their academic and professional goals.

I hold a degree in Engineering and have also studied at Shafston International College in Australia. My educational background has equipped me with the tools to make a meaningful impact in the field of English language learning. Additionally, I enjoy sharing my expertise through articles that explore effective teaching methods and language assessment strategies, contributing to the International English Test and the broader assessment community.

Best Universities In The World [2024]

University of Oxford

Harvard University

University of Cambridge

Stanford University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

California Institute of Technology

Princeton University

University of California, Berkeley

Yale University

Imperial College London

Columbia University

ETH Zurich

The University of Chicago

University of Pennsylvania

Johns Hopkins University

Tsinghua University

Peking University

University of Toronto

National University of Singapore

Cornell University

University of California, Los Angeles

UCL

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

New York University

Duke University

Northwestern University

University of Washington

Carnegie Mellon University

University of Edinburgh

Technical University of Munich

University of Hong Kong

University of California, San Diego

LMU Munich

University of Melbourne

King’s College London

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

London School of Economics and Political Science

Georgia Institute of Technology

The University of Tokyo

University of British Columbia

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

KU Leuven

Heidelberg University

Monash University

Chinese University of Hong Kong

McGill University

Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University Paris

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Karolinska Institute

University of Texas at Austin

Fudan University

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

The University of Queensland

University of Manchester

University of Sydney

Seoul National University

Washington University in St Louis

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Wageningen University & Research

University of Amsterdam

Brown University

Australian National University

University of California, Davis

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Southern California

Utrecht University

Zhejiang University

Kyoto University

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Delft University of Technology

Boston University

UNSW Sydney

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

University of Science and Technology of China

University of Groningen

University of Bristol

Leiden University

Yonsei University (Seoul campus)

Hong Kong Polytechnic University