Britain and America dominate list of best universities

[Rossiya]

Where and what was the top Italian university?

 

[Whomp]

Btw
Mise congrats on possibly being our most prominently educated CFCer!

 

[Truronian]

Btw
Mise congrats on possibly being our most prominently educated CFCer!

Didn't col go to Cambridge?

 

[Abaddon]

Where's Newcastle
I swear we were 6th uni in UK last year...

 

[Truronian]

Where's Newcastle
I swear we were 6th uni in UK last year...

It seems all that locust study hasn't payed off.

 

[Masquerouge]

They've dropped from 10th to 37th in one year.

What, are you telling me I should read the small numbers now?

 

[Abaddon]

Damnnation! i'll have words with my tutor!

 

[emzie]

Btw
Mise congrats on possibly being our most prominently educated CFCer!

While I can't mention names, we do have a poster going to #1 remember!

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Dang, I thought my uni might make the top 100...of well, I guiess I'll just have to cheer for McGill

we're #21! we're #21!

Not only that, but McGill passed some universities in the rankings. Take that, University of Melbourne!

21! 21! 21!

 

[Whomp]

While I can't mention names, we do have a poster going to #1 remember!

I think will be not is.
But I suppose that's all semantics, really.

btw I was on that campus this weekend and I wouldn't have lasted a minute. I couldn't find a pub.

 

[DYNAMICS]

They've dropped from 10th to 37th in one year.

Must be because of the rioting in France last year! You know a Polytechnique can only take so much rioting.

 

[Gelion]

Dropped 27 places from 10th

I know ..... but they will make it back up I am sure.

 

[shortguy]

I can see how UMich, Berkeley, and UCLA could beat UVA, and maybe UT and Wisconsin, but Illinois? Penn State? Washington? Pitt? UCSD?

I don't buy that.

EDIT: Looking at their methodology, I can see why the results are so weird. They surveyed academics themselves for the rankings; I've heard it said that, if asked how good Princeton's Law School is, most people (even in academia) would put it in the top 20.

EDIT2: Here's the top 200 list:

http://www.topgraduate.com/universityrankings/thes_qs_world_university_rankings_2006/

 

[Israelite9191]

There are some of those that are downright odd. Tufts and Georgetown don't make it on there, but all sorts of odd big schools do? For that matter, Johns Hopkins and UChicago are near the top, and Tufts and Georgetown aren't?

U of C is one of the best universities in the world thank you very much! Frankly, I thought it was somewhat cheated in this ranking. Tufts and Georgetown should also be further up, but please, the University of Chicago more than deserves its place.

 

[Azale]

woot, 32, thats what I'm talking about! Hook em' Horns

I usually go to USA Today for my college school evaluation, seeing as I really don't plan on going international (despite the pure awesomeness of the idea)

 

[Verbose]

There's a known bias in favour of universities in English speaking countries. (It's about the money. Effects of quantity that doesn't always translate into quality, but makes comparisons difficult.)

Of course even without the bias US and UK universities would dominate. And its prolly a pretty good guide to the relative merits of universities in English speakin countries.

As soon as it tries to deal with non-English speakers the results get shoddier. It's more of a hit-or-miss what makes the list and why.

Best way of climbing it is ditching your own language and trying to do as much as possible in English. Having seen it tried where I am, I have to conclude it's an idiot strategy.

But these lists are becoming important, so chances are non-English speakers are likley to start doing rubbish in English rather than good stuff in any other language. It pays off better in international ranking systems. Still a pity though...

 

[Nobody]

Im surprised auckland is ranked so high compared to otago, and Victoria isnt even on there.

 

[Cuivienen]

The survey was based on research in their field of expertise. I'd guess this is why Johns Hopkins (med, int'l studies) and U of Chicago (med, physics and economics) rank so high. U of C is affliated with 79 Nobel Laureates.

Tufts and Georgetown are both much better IR schools than JHU, and Tufts is probably better for Pre-Med, too.

U of C is one of the best universities in the world thank you very much! Frankly, I thought it was somewhat cheated in this ranking. Tufts and Georgetown should also be further up, but please, the University of Chicago more than deserves its place.

I didn't mean that UChicago was a bad school, I just meant that all four schools are about on the same footing, so having two near the top and two not on the list is absurd.

 

[Neonanocyborgasm]

This is how they came up with the rankings:

The rankings were based on a survey for the THES of 3,703 academics worldwide, who were asked to identify up to 30 universities best for research within their own field of expertise. This ensures that the rankings are topical and liable to change from year to year if institutions do not maintain research standards.

The table also includes data from 736 graduate employers from around the world, as well as the ratio of faculty to student numbers and a university’s success in attracting foreign students and internationally renowned academics.

The five factors were weighted and transformed into a scale giving the top university 100 points and ranking the others as a proportion of that score. Ian Leslie, the Pro-ViceChancellor of Cambridge, said: “It is very reassuring that the collegiate systems of Cambridge and Oxford continue to be valued and respected by peers, and that the excellence of teaching and of research at both institutions is reflected in this ranking.”

So in other words, it was a purely subjective poll of the opinion of academics. Now that is circular. Instead of coming up with some objective criteria to evaluate and rank, which might actually be useful, the study copped-out by simply mailing out a survey.

My experience with these rankings is that they are self-aggrandizing tributes. I've found that the graduates from some of the "big name" schools are often third-rate and actually uncompetitive. They are able to get by on their pedigree but not on much else. It suggests to me that these institutions are so ancient and view themselves as so self-important that they don't feel the need to actually excell in the fields they claim.

I will take this rank list with a grain of salt.

 

[Mise]

It suggests to me that these institutions are so ancient and view themselves as so self-important that they don't feel the need to actually excell in the fields they claim.

The first two sentences of the bit you quoted pretty much go against this.

@Whomp: Thanks
(Anarres and col went to Cambridge IIRC)