They are synonymous with excellence and prestige. Thousands of people aspire to study there, but only a few succeed. The best universities in the world are admired and serve as beacons of knowledge for all mankind.
Academic quality is assured at these institutions, which in many cases have several centuries of history. Tradition, of course, is combined with modernity, as these institutions are constantly renewing themselves and using 21st-century technological advances to optimize their work and fulfill their goals.
Of the best universities in the world, the vast majority are in the United States and England, according to the prevailing opinions of students, faculty, and analysts. These two countries have an invaluable legacy of university education, and their institutions are truly iconic. Ask professional writers to “write my essay for me” and you’ll get a successful admission paper.
Switzerland and Canada also have institutions where study is a privilege. Graduates of such universities know that they have the distinction, a plus that allows them to excel academically and professionally.
Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge… These are names that are immediately associated with an excellent university education. Their buildings, halls, laboratories, classrooms, and museums are visited by fortunate students and professors who have the pleasure of spending their days in a unique environment enriched by knowledge. Through their contributions in many areas, the world’s best universities contribute to the progress and development of society.
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which stands for Massachusetts Institute of Technology, usually tops most rankings of the world’s best universities. Founded in 1861, this private institution is internationally recognized for its contributions to scientific research and applied technology.
More than 1,000 professors teach about 11,500 students at this institution, located in the American city of Cambridge. Five schools and a college make up its educational structure.
2. Harvard University, Cambridge
With a history dating back to 1636, Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (better known as MIT), it is located in the city of Cambridge.
More than 36,000 students take advantage of the various educational opportunities offered by this institution, whose library, the largest in the academic organization, has 20.4 million volumes. Harvard is organized into eleven major divisions: ten departments and an Institute for Advanced Study.
3. Oxford University, Oxford
Although the date of its founding is unclear, it is believed that Oxford University was founded around 1096. This British educational institution is a benchmark for education around the world.
Oxford has about 24,000 students who can feel very fortunate. According to the university’s own statistics, there are seven applications for every available seat every year.
Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene, Hugh Grant, and Aldous Huxley are just some of the famous people who passed through Oxford’s classrooms in the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition, no fewer than twenty-eight British prime ministers have studied at this university, including the last two: Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
4. Stanford University, Stanford
Tycoon Leland Stanford and his wife Jane founded the institution of higher learning in 1891. Their purpose: to honor the memory of Leland Stanford, Jr. their only son, who died at age 15.
Leland Stanford Junior University, colloquially known as Stanford University, gradually became one of the most famous universities in the United States. Today, a staff of more than 2,200 faculty members educates about 16,400 students.
Like all of the world’s top universities, Stanford has educated important figures in science and culture, including several Nobel Prize winners. In fact, more than a dozen intellectuals who have received this award work as professors at the institution.
It’s worth noting that Stanford University’s campus is home to about 700 buildings. Its infrastructure includes seven schools (engineering, medical, law, and others).
5. Cambridge University, Cambridge
The University of Cambridge began to take shape in 1209 when a group of scholars left Oxford and settled here. As a result, it is one of the four oldest universities in the world.
More than 22,000 students from 147 countries are educated at this British institution, which includes 31 colleges and some 150 departments, faculties, schools, and other facilities. Its alumni, professors, and researchers include 109 Nobel Prize winners, 47 heads of state, and 190 Olympic medalists.
It must be said that studying at Cambridge is a very difficult desire. In 2018, for example, 18,378 people applied for one of the 3,000 undergraduate places available.
6. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Zurich
The best universities in the world are usually American and English institutions. But the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) has enough merit to be considered part of this select group.
Known as ETH, it is a public university known for its research work. It opened its doors in 1855, and today it has about 22,200 students from 126 countries.
If we focus on the Nobel Prizes, as is often done to measure the prestige of a university, we find that 21 laureates were or are associated with ETH. The first name that stands out is Albert Einstein, who studied and later worked at ETH Zurich.
ETH Zurich has two main facilities: one in the city center (near the old town) and one on the outskirts (Hönggerberg). Both have the necessary infrastructure for teaching and research without neglecting leisure time.
7. Imperial College London, London
Imperial College London was founded in 1907 when the Royal School of Mines, the Royal College of Science, and City & Guilds College merged. Soon this educational institution became one of the leading in London and other countries of Great Britain and Europe.
Some 17,000 students from 125 countries study at this institution. Engineering, science, medicine, and business are the most important fields of study at this university, through which fourteen Nobel Prize winners have passed.
Three faculties and a business school form the basis of the educational infrastructure of Imperial College London, which also has some other centers and institutes. Various campuses in London and the Southeast provide all kinds of facilities and services for students, faculty, and researchers.
The research and social work conducted by Imperial College London are very important in many areas. Thanks to its specialists, for example, the population of the saiga antelope, an endangered species, has increased by about 190%.
8. University of Toronto, Toronto
The University of Toronto describes itself as Canada’s leading institution in learning, discovery, and knowledge generation. It was founded in 1827 and has already graduated more than 560,000 students.
Known as the U of T, it has three campuses in Mississauga, St. George’s, and Scarborough. Of its 93,000 students, just over 23,000 are international students from 159 countries. The country giving the most students is China, followed by India and the United States, in that order.
The University of Toronto faculty consists of more than 14,600 people engaged in research and/or teaching. About 160 librarians also work at the University of Toronto.
The U of T library system contains 12 million volumes in 314 languages. It also holds more than 2 million digital books and about 250,000 maps and aerial photographs. The materials are available to students, faculty, researchers, and general visitors.
