QS World University Rankings
QS

QS World University Rankings 2020

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

The most widely referenced global university ranking, based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and six key indicators.

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 QS World University Rankings evaluate universities?

QS World University Rankings, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluates universities worldwide using key indicators such as International Student Ratio, International Faculty Ratio, Faculty Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, 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 1062 universities from 20 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 QS World University Rankings 2020?

The top universities in QS World University Rankings 2020 are: University of British Columbia, City University of Hong Kong, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Zhejiang University, Technical University of Munich. This edition, published by QS World University Rankings, evaluated 1062 universities from 20 countries and regions using indicators such as International Student Ratio, International Faculty Ratio, Faculty Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, 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 QS World University Rankings 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 2019-06
No results found
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🇨🇦 Canada
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🇺🇾 Uruguay
🇻🇪 Venezuela
🇻🇳 Vietnam
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Total 1,062 universities

Per page

10
20
50
100
University
Country
51 University of British Columbia logo University of British Columbia (UBC) 🇨🇦 Canada 74.1 79.3 90.8 46.0 42.2 97.0 89.0
52 City University of Hong Kong logo City University of Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 73.6 95.3 100.0 89.7 89.4 59.0 41.3
53 Université Paris Sciences et Lettres logo Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) 🇫🇷 France 73.4 72.1 67.1 100.0 26.2 77.7 98.6
54 Zhejiang University logo Zhejiang University (ZJU) 🇨🇳 China 72.4 62.9 95.4 78.6 63.9 67.7 86.5
55 Technical University of Munich logo Technical University of Munich (TUM) 🇩🇪 Germany 72.3 76.8 60.6 89.1 26.9 80.2 99.0
56 University of Wisconsin–Madison logo University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) 🇺🇸 United States 71.8 30.9 57.2 85.5 50.0 87.8 49.7
57 Brown University logo Brown University 🇺🇸 United States 71.5 56.0 86.0 81.1 86.6 61.9 58.2
58 Monash University logo Monash University 🇦🇺 Australia 70.9 99.9 100.0 17.1 64.2 88.0 91.9
58 Tokyo Institute of Technology logo Tokyo Institute of Technology (東工大) 🇯🇵 Japan 70.9 31.3 30.7 86.2 61.3 74.5 82.7
60 École Polytechnique logo École Polytechnique 🇫🇷 France 70.5 97.9 95.2 99.6 66.3 43.8 99.3
60 Shanghai Jiao Tong University logo Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) 🇨🇳 China 70.5 20.1 84.1 53.7 65.5 79.6 93.6
62 University of Warwick logo University of Warwick 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 70.4 99.1 97.8 55.3 50.3 74.4 94.1
63 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München logo Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) 🇩🇪 Germany 69.6 37.7 61.5 52.6 45.7 91.1 83.2
64 University of Amsterdam logo University of Amsterdam (UvA) 🇳🇱 Netherlands 69.0 52.5 79.5 44.8 75.9 81.1 56.0
65 University of Texas at Austin logo University of Texas at Austin 🇺🇸 United States 68.6 18.6 6.9 12.1 93.4 94.2 83.3
66 Universität Heidelberg Universität Heidelberg 🇩🇪 Germany 68.4 44.2 52.8 96.7 34.8 80.0 50.6
67 University of Glasgow logo University of Glasgow 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 68.2 96.5 93.7 63.7 55.0 72.2 58.9
68 University of Washington logo University of Washington (UW) 🇺🇸 United States 67.9 40.5 55.8 17.4 99.2 86.1 51.4
69 National Taiwan University logo National Taiwan University (NTU) 🇹🇼 Taiwan 67.3 30.4 20.8 41.9 59.7 89.8 82.4
70 University of Malaya logo University of Malaya (UM) 🇲🇾 Malaysia 67.1 57.2 62.8 90.7 41.5 68.2 72.0
71 The University of Osaka logo The University of Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan 66.5 14.3 23.1 80.3 46.2 80.8 67.5
72 Georgia Institute of Technology logo Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) 🇺🇸 United States 66.2 65.8 60.4 15.1 100.0 71.1 81.7
74 Universidad de Buenos Aires logo Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) 🇦🇷 Argentina 66.0 64.7 50.7 77.4 2.4 87.2 91.3
75 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign logo University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) 🇺🇸 United States 65.9 67.2 19.3 13.5 86.3 89.0 58.1
76 University of Zurich logo University of Zurich (UZH) 🇨🇭 Switzerland 65.8 59.4 100.0 99.7 38.7 58.6 64.5
77 Sorbonne Université logo Sorbonne Université 🇫🇷 France 64.9 56.5 47.8 59.7 36.2 89.2 45.9
78 Durham University logo Durham University 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 64.2 87.2 97.2 35.9 77.9 57.3 91.2
78 University of Sheffield logo University of Sheffield 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 64.2 94.1 87.9 61.0 61.4 61.3 58.7
80 KU Leuven logo KU Leuven (KUL) 🇧🇪 Belgium 64.1 37.5 90.0 11.8 85.3 79.1 64.3
81 = University of Copenhagen logo University of Copenhagen (UCPH) 🇩🇰 Denmark 63.8 29.4 92.6 100.0 25.5 70.1 43.9
81 University of Birmingham logo University of Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 64.0 85.7 91.8 54.8 49.3 65.6 78.8
82 Tohoku University logo Tohoku University 🇯🇵 Japan 63.7 17.6 12.7 98.2 43.1 69.5 59.1
83 Korea University logo Korea University 🇰🇷 South Korea 63.4 44.7 15.2 83.1 35.4 70.0 85.0
83 = University of Auckland logo University of Auckland (UoA) 🇳🇿 New Zealand 63.4 91.8 94.4 25.0 44.8 84.2 62.8
84 Lomonosov Moscow State University logo Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) 🇷🇺 Russia 63.2 56.1 18.0 99.7 7.2 73.6 84.9
85 Rice University logo Rice University 🇺🇸 United States 63.1 90.6 89.8 84.0 93.6 40.1 22.7
86 The University of Western Australia logo The University of Western Australia (UWA) 🇦🇺 Australia 62.9 98.7 100.0 20.8 88.3 62.4 59.8
87 Pohang University of Science and Technology logo Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) 🇰🇷 South Korea 62.6 3.6 35.3 99.9 99.3 41.3 40.8
89 University of Science and Technology of China logo University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) 🇨🇳 China 62.3 5.7 16.9 81.1 98.5 56.2 26.1
90 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill logo University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) 🇺🇸 United States 62.2 11.3 35.6 88.3 46.0 68.7 53.3
91 Hong Kong Polytechnic University logo Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 61.9 74.8 100.0 74.1 46.3 61.3 43.7
92 Lund University logo Lund University 🇸🇪 Sweden 61.8 70.1 89.3 50.1 51.9 69.6 54.3
93 Pennsylvania State University logo Pennsylvania State University (PSU) 🇺🇸 United States 61.7 38.6 21.4 31.6 67.8 76.5 80.4
93 University of Leeds logo University of Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 61.7 81.8 84.1 45.5 41.6 69.2 81.2
95 Sungkyunkwan University logo Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) 🇰🇷 South Korea 61.0 38.1 21.3 85.7 49.3 58.4 74.6
96 University of Nottingham logo University of Nottingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 60.8 82.1 92.1 52.4 49.7 60.3 73.2
97 University of Southampton logo University of Southampton 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 60.6 92.8 96.1 59.0 68.1 50.8 52.5
98 Boston University logo Boston University (BU) 🇺🇸 United States 60.5 88.6 33.8 53.8 62.1 63.1 57.5
98 KTH Royal Institute of Technology logo KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) 🇸🇪 Sweden 60.5 48.7 96.9 63.0 72.8 47.5 68.4
100 University of St Andrews logo University of St Andrews 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 59.9 99.8 98.7 65.3 67.4 45.2 51.6