Top 10 Universities in the World

Choosing the right university for higher education can solve most problems associated with career planning. Generally, universities ranked in the top 10 are preferred for higher education. Universities are primarily ranked on the basis of quality of education they offer. The criteria which is used for defining the term 'quality' can vary a lot.

Other factors like research funding, the number of doctorates awarded to students/faculty, the faculty make-up, etc., are also taken into account. Therefore, the top 10 universities of the world could be different for different people based on the criteria they focus on.

Apart from the list of top 10 universities, a separate list of institutes that offer the best education in engineering, medicine and management studies also is given below. Those universities which employ efficient ways/methodologies to impart quality education to students are considered as the best.

Here is a list of some of the top-rated Universities in the world. Before coming to any conclusion about the quality of education offered by these universities, one should remember that rankings of universities can differ with the use of different criteria.

#1 California Institute of Technology

The California Institute of Technology, also known as Caltech is set in a suburban area of Pasadena, California. Caltech stood 1st in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Thirty-one of Caltech's alumni (including the faculty) have received the Nobel Prize.

The number of students that get enrolled for undergraduate programs in this university is 948.

Tuition and Fees: $54,570

#2 Harvard University

Established in 1636, Harvard University is one of the members of the Ivy League. Every year, 7181 students take admission for graduate programs; 14,044 students take admission for postgraduate programs. Harvard has the largest academic library in the United States.

It is also the oldest institute in USA for higher studies; the university completed 384 years in 2020. Harvard's financial endowment is higher than that of any other university in world. Its FY 2019 figures for financial endowment were $40.9 billion. This university is named after its first benefactor, John Harvard.

Tuition, Fees (2019-2020): $50,420

#3 Stanford University

This university was established in 1891; the Stanford University or Leland Stanford Junior University was named after Leland Stanford's son, Leland Stanford Jr. who died of typhoid at an early age of 15 years. The university enrolls around 8,000 graduates and 7000 undergraduates annually.

Students from Stanford have been placed in reputed organizations like Google, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. The different schools which form the Stanford university are 'Stanford School of Medicine', 'Stanford Law School', 'Stanford School of Engineering' and 'Stanford Graduate School of Business'.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google Inc. are the alumni of Stanford university.

Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $51,354

#4 University of Oxford

The exact year of establishment of Oxford is not known. However, it is said to date back to 1096. Oxford is the oldest surviving university from the English-speaking countries. The total number of students enrolling for different courses in the University of Oxford annually is over 21,000.

There is always a great competition between Oxford and Cambridge to gain the top spot in UK's top universities' list. The University of Oxford's endowment for 2019 was £6.1 billion.

Maximum Tuition and Fees (2018-19): $11,500 (£9250)

#5 Princeton University

Founded in 1746, Princeton University is the 4th oldest university in USA; it is one of the members of the prestigious Ivy League. This university offers undergraduate and graduate programs in humanities, engineering, natural sciences and social sciences.

The number of students admitted for undergraduate and graduate programs in the Princeton University is 5,000 and 2,500 respectively.

Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $53,890

#6 University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209. An association formed by a group of scholars grew into what is today's University of Cambridge. The number of students enrolled in the University of Cambridge annually is 21,656.

Cambridge is the second-oldest university in all the English-speaking countries. This university has produced 61 Nobel laureates. The university's endowment for 2019 was £ 6.95 billion.

Maximum Tuition and Fees (2020): $11,500 (£9250)

#7 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is considered as one of the best universities for higher education. The 68 hectare campus of MIT houses a college and 5 schools which have 32 departments. The number of students admitted for various courses in MIT is 11,300.

The university has produced 75 Nobel laureates; thirty-one 'MacArthur Fellows' and 47 recipients of 'National Medal of Science'. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 1861 and students were first admitted in this institute in 1865.

Meeting the demands and challenges of industrialization in America was one of the needs and also a driving force behind the establishment of this university.

Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $51,832

#8 Imperial College London

Established on July 8, 1907, the Imperial College London admits 13,500 full-time students for different programs.

This public research university houses 40 departments grouped under 4 units - Imperial College Business School, Imperial College Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine and Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences. This university is amongst the top three in the United Kingdom.

Maximum Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $11,500 (£9250)

#9 University of Chicago

Founded by the American Baptist Education Society in 1890, the University of Chicago spreads over an area of 85.4 hectares. The university was set up with the help of a donation received from John D. Rockefeller. This university has produced 87 Nobel Laureates and 49 Rhodes Scholars.

The number of undergraduates and graduates enrolled annually is 5,369 and 9,850 respectively.

Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $58,230

#10 University of California, Berkeley

The University of California offers 300 graduate and undergraduate programs. It is set in a sprawling campus of 2,692 hectares. The university admits 25,530 and 10,313 students for graduate and postgraduate programs respectively.

As per the Academic Ranking of World Universities, University of California, Berkeley is placed in the 3rd position. The University of California, Berkeley has produced 65 Nobel laureates. Many of its students got placed in companies like Google, Apple Inc., Adobe Systems, Intel and Sun Microsystems.

The University of California is well-known for its research activities and projects. The money spent on research activities in 2009 was over $650 million.

Tuition and Fees (2019-20): $43,176

Other Important Universities in the World

There are many institutions and colleges, apart from those mentioned before, that offer quality education. Not all of them make it to the list of top 10 universities in the world. Here are the details of few such universities.

Cornell University

The Cornell University, which is located in Ithaca, New York, was founded by Ezra Cornell in 1865. Every year, 20,633 students are admitted for different courses in the Cornell university. A variety of courses that range from agriculture, liberal arts, engineering to hotel administration are offered by the university.

There are 7 graduate divisions and an equal number of undergraduate colleges in the Cornell university.

Yale University

Yale is the 3rd oldest university in USA. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, the university is set in a sprawling 339 hectare campus. Many prominent personalities including 5 presidents of USA have studied in Yale. The university was established in 1701.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

One of the oldest universities in China, Shanghai Jiao Tong is a member of the C9 League. This league is formed of top universities from China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is a public university founded in 1896, followed by issuing of an edict by Guangxu Emperor.

The university offers a variety of courses ranging from medicine, engineering, agriculture, law to humanities.

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Based in Mexico City, the 'Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico' or 'National Autonomous University of Mexico' is the largest university in America in terms of student enrollment. Every year, around 340,000 students are admitted for different courses in the university.

Justo Sierra founded this university on 22nd September, 1910. The campus of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

1. Harvard University
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. Washington University (St. Louis)
4. Duke University
5. University of Pennsylvania
6. University of California (San Francisco)
7. Columbia University
8. Stanford University
9. University of Michigan
10. Yale University

... for Engineering

The following list contains names of some of the best universities in the world for studying engineering.

1. University of California
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Stanford University
4. Imperial College (London, UK)
5. California Institute of Technology
6. Tokyo University
7. Cambridge University
8. National University of Singapore
9. Peking University
10. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

... for Management Studies

This list should prove to be useful in finding the best universities that offer management education.

1. University of Chicago
2. Harvard University
3. Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois, USA)
4. University of Pennsylvania
5. University of Michigan
6. Stanford University
7. Columbia University
8. Duke University
9. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
10. University of California, Berkeley

The different ranking systems are known to take a different approach in classifying the universities. However, the details presented before should give you a fair idea of the quality of education offered by them.