Materials Sciences
QS

Materials Sciences 2020

QS World University Rankings · · Methodology · Source: QS World University Rankings official website · Editorial Standards

Ranks universities globally for research output and academic impact in materials sciences.

QS is the only major ranking system that weights employer reputation at 15%, with academic and employer reputation together accounting for nearly half the total score.

How does Materials Sciences evaluate universities?

Materials Sciences, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluates universities worldwide using key indicators such as Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, each assigned a distinct weight according to a publicly documented methodology. Data sources combine academic peer reviews, employer surveys, bibliometric databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, and institutional self-reported statistics, all independently verified by the publisher's research team. The 2020 edition assessed 398 universities from 14 countries and regions, covering teaching quality, research output, internationalization, and graduate employability across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. QS World University Rankings recollects raw data annually and cross-checks results to ensure the rankings reflect each institution's most current performance in faculty strength, scholarly productivity, global reach, and student outcomes, providing a reliable reference for prospective students, parents, and education researchers.

Which are the top universities in Materials Sciences 2020?

The top universities in Materials Sciences 2020 are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Nanyang Technological University, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford. This edition, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluated 398 universities from 14 countries and regions using indicators such as Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation. Rankings reflect weighted performance across multiple dimensions; students should consider methodology differences and their own academic priorities when interpreting results.

How does Materials Sciences differ from other ranking systems?

QS World University Rankings, published by Quacquarelli Symonds since 2004, are defined by their heavy emphasis on reputation surveys: academic reputation (30%) and employer reputation (15%) together account for nearly half of the total score, directly reflecting how scholars and employers worldwide perceive each institution. Additional indicators include faculty/student ratio (10%), citations per faculty (20%), international faculty (5%), international students (5%), plus newer dimensions such as sustainability and employment outcomes. In contrast, THE emphasizes teaching environment and research quality, ARWU relies entirely on objective research output (Nobel Prizes, publications), and US News focuses on research reputation and citation impact. QS is therefore particularly useful for applicants concerned with institutional prestige, graduate employability, and cross-border recognition.

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🇪🇬 Egypt
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Total 398 universities

Per page

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100
University
Country
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🇺🇸 United States 96.9 100.0 99.9
2 Stanford University logo Stanford University (SU) 🇺🇸 United States 94.9 95.3 95.2
3 Nanyang Technological University logo Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 🇸🇬 Singapore 94.1 90.6 83.4
4 University of Cambridge logo University of Cambridge 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 93.4 97.3 95.5
5 University of Oxford logo University of Oxford 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 93.0 93.5 94.9
6 University of California, Berkeley logo University of California, Berkeley (UCB) 🇺🇸 United States 92.8 95.1 91.4
7 EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne logo EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne 🇨🇭 Switzerland 92.4 93.8 89.7
7 Harvard University logo Harvard University 🇺🇸 United States 92.4 92.3 100.0
9 Tsinghua University logo Tsinghua University (THU) 🇨🇳 China 91.9 90.5 85.9
10 Georgia Institute of Technology logo Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) 🇺🇸 United States 91.4 91.5 86.9
11 Imperial College London logo Imperial College London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 91.3 96.7 90.3
12 Northwestern University logo Northwestern University (NU) 🇺🇸 United States 91.0 96.1 70.8
13 National University of Singapore logo National University of Singapore (NUS) 🇸🇬 Singapore 90.9 86.1 87.8
14 ETH Zurich logo ETH Zurich 🇨🇭 Switzerland 89.3 91.0 91.3
15 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign logo University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) 🇺🇸 United States 88.0 90.8 80.6
16 Peking University logo Peking University (PKU) 🇨🇳 China 87.9 81.9 81.9
17 California Institute of Technology logo California Institute of Technology (CIT) 🇺🇸 United States 87.8 90.9 93.7
17 Delft University of Technology logo Delft University of Technology 🇳🇱 Netherlands 87.8 92.9 84.8
19 KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology logo KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology 🇰🇷 South Korea 87.3 84.7 83.9
19 The University of Tokyo logo The University of Tokyo (UT) 🇯🇵 Japan 87.3 90.4 87.4
21 Seoul National University logo Seoul National University (SNU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 87.2 84.6 83.4
22 Shanghai Jiao Tong University logo Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) 🇨🇳 China 86.6 83.4 81.1
23 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology logo Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 85.9 81.0 80.5
24 RWTH Aachen University logo RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) 🇩🇪 Germany 85.5 90.7 89.4
25 University of California, Los Angeles logo University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 🇺🇸 United States 85.2 78.4 86.1
26 Sungkyunkwan University logo Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 85.1 78.5 77.1
27 KTH Royal Institute of Technology logo KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) 🇸🇪 Sweden 85.0 89.4 76.7
28 University of Manchester logo University of Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 84.9 86.7 74.5
29 Pennsylvania State University logo Pennsylvania State University (PSU) 🇺🇸 United States 84.8 80.4 78.9
30 Fudan University logo Fudan University 🇨🇳 China 84.6 72.7 77.7
31 Carnegie Mellon University logo Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) 🇺🇸 United States 84.5 85.5 79.1
31 Technical University of Munich logo Technical University of Munich (TUM) 🇩🇪 Germany 84.5 84.0 84.8
33 Tokyo Institute of Technology logo Tokyo Institute of Technology (東工大) 🇯🇵 Japan 84.2 89.7 84.9
34 Kyoto University logo Kyoto University 🇯🇵 Japan 84.0 84.6 82.3
35 Zhejiang University logo Zhejiang University (ZJU) 🇨🇳 China 83.9 75.8 77.4
36 University of Michigan logo University of Michigan (UM) 🇺🇸 United States 83.8 81.4 80.2
37 University of Pennsylvania logo University of Pennsylvania 🇺🇸 United States 83.5 80.5 76.6
38 Cornell University logo Cornell University (CU) 🇺🇸 United States 83.4 79.8 82.2
39 University of Texas at Austin logo University of Texas at Austin 🇺🇸 United States 83.3 75.3 76.5
40 University of California, Santa Barbara logo University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) 🇺🇸 United States 83.2 85.1 54.6
40 University of Science and Technology of China logo University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 🇨🇳 China 83.2 71.4 71.9
42 UNSW Sydney logo UNSW Sydney (UNSW) 🇦🇺 Australia 82.9 80.3 77.9
43 KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 🇩🇪 Germany 82.7 82.4 76.4
43 Pohang University of Science and Technology logo Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) 🇰🇷 South Korea 82.7 77.1 74.8
45 KU Leuven logo KU Leuven (KUL) 🇧🇪 Belgium 82.5 82.4 77.4
46 Monash University logo Monash University 🇦🇺 Australia 82.2 74.9 73.3
46 Tohoku University logo Tohoku University 🇯🇵 Japan 82.2 84.7 78.9
48 University of Toronto logo University of Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada 82.0 78.6 77.5
49 McGill University logo McGill University 🇨🇦 Canada 81.9 82.9 77.5
50 Purdue University West Lafayette logo Purdue University West Lafayette 🇺🇸 United States 81.6 74.6 89.3