Materials Sciences
QS

Materials Sciences 2021

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 2021 edition assessed 397 universities from 13 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 2021?

The top universities in Materials Sciences 2021 are: Nanyang Technological University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Harvard University. This edition, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluated 397 universities from 13 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.

Current edition: published 2021-03
No results found
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Total 397 universities

Per page

10
20
50
100
University
Country
1 Nanyang Technological University logo Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 🇸🇬 Singapore 93.7 87.9 90.1
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 🇺🇸 United States 93.3 100.0 100.0
3 Stanford University logo Stanford University (SU) 🇺🇸 United States 92.0 94.0 94.5
4 University of Cambridge logo University of Cambridge 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 89.1 96.3 94.5
5 = Harvard University logo Harvard University 🇺🇸 United States 89.0 89.9 99.9
5 = National University of Singapore logo National University of Singapore (NUS) 🇸🇬 Singapore 89.0 85.7 95.7
7 Georgia Institute of Technology logo Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) 🇺🇸 United States 88.6 91.0 89.0
8 University of California, Berkeley logo University of California, Berkeley (UCB) 🇺🇸 United States 88.4 93.2 91.8
9 University of Oxford logo University of Oxford 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 87.6 92.3 94.0
10 Tsinghua University logo Tsinghua University (THU) 🇨🇳 China 87.3 84.7 87.4
11 Northwestern University logo Northwestern University (NU) 🇺🇸 United States 86.2 93.5 72.5
12 EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne logo EPFL – École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne 🇨🇭 Switzerland 85.9 90.7 85.6
13 Peking University logo Peking University (PKU) 🇨🇳 China 84.1 76.0 89.2
14 Imperial College London logo Imperial College London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 82.5 89.4 89.2
15 ETH Zurich logo ETH Zurich 🇨🇭 Switzerland 82.3 88.1 88.7
16 = Fudan University logo Fudan University 🇨🇳 China 81.7 67.9 87.3
16 = KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology logo KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology 🇰🇷 South Korea 81.7 80.6 82.3
16 = Hong Kong University of Science and Technology logo Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 81.7 75.6 81.1
19 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign logo University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) 🇺🇸 United States 81.2 88.0 76.0
20 Shanghai Jiao Tong University logo Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) 🇨🇳 China 80.5 78.3 84.9
21 University of California, Los Angeles logo University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 🇺🇸 United States 80.4 76.3 87.2
22 Seoul National University logo Seoul National University (SNU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 80.2 81.2 79.7
23 Pennsylvania State University logo Pennsylvania State University (PSU) 🇺🇸 United States 79.2 76.7 78.6
24 University of Science and Technology of China logo University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 🇨🇳 China 78.5 64.1 72.2
25 = California Institute of Technology logo California Institute of Technology (CIT) 🇺🇸 United States 78.3 89.0 94.3
25 = City University of Hong Kong logo City University of Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 78.3 66.4 70.9
27 Zhejiang University logo Zhejiang University (ZJU) 🇨🇳 China 78.2 68.9 90.6
28 University of Manchester logo University of Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 77.7 82.2 73.2
29 = Sungkyunkwan University logo Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 77.5 71.4 71.5
29 = The University of Tokyo logo The University of Tokyo (UT) 🇯🇵 Japan 77.5 87.6 88.4
31 University of Texas at Austin logo University of Texas at Austin 🇺🇸 United States 77.4 70.5 75.9
32 Carnegie Mellon University logo Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) 🇺🇸 United States 77.0 81.1 81.1
33 University of California, Santa Barbara logo University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) 🇺🇸 United States 76.8 81.2 60.5
34 = Monash University logo Monash University 🇦🇺 Australia 76.7 67.9 75.4
34 = University of Michigan logo University of Michigan (UM) 🇺🇸 United States 76.7 76.0 77.5
36 Delft University of Technology logo Delft University of Technology 🇳🇱 Netherlands 76.6 87.9 84.1
37 Pohang University of Science and Technology logo Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) 🇰🇷 South Korea 76.1 71.6 75.6
38 KTH Royal Institute of Technology logo KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) 🇸🇪 Sweden 76.0 84.3 77.4
39 = UNSW Sydney logo UNSW Sydney (UNSW) 🇦🇺 Australia 75.3 72.6 79.0
39 = University of Toronto logo University of Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada 75.3 73.7 76.2
41 RWTH Aachen University logo RWTH Aachen University (RWTH) 🇩🇪 Germany 75.2 86.5 82.9
42 = Nanjing University logo Nanjing University (NJU) 🇨🇳 China 75.1 61.5 72.6
42 = Rice University logo Rice University 🇺🇸 United States 75.1 62.0 61.0
44 Purdue University West Lafayette logo Purdue University West Lafayette 🇺🇸 United States 74.9 73.4 86.5
45 KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 🇩🇪 Germany 74.8 79.1 77.6
46 University of Pennsylvania logo University of Pennsylvania 🇺🇸 United States 74.6 73.7 76.8
47 Cornell University logo Cornell University (CU) 🇺🇸 United States 74.3 73.3 80.4
48 Korea University logo Korea University 🇰🇷 South Korea 74.2 64.6 77.2
49 Technical University of Munich logo Technical University of Munich (TUM) 🇩🇪 Germany 73.8 78.8 79.8
50 = Kyoto University logo Kyoto University 🇯🇵 Japan 73.2 76.9 84.1