Methodologies
How each ranking system works
Full indicators and weights behind each major global ranking, plus our own composite methodology.
qs
QS World University Rankings
Reputation-heavy with a strong international and employability focus.
QS evaluates universities across nine weighted indicators grouped into research & discovery, employability & outcomes, learning experience, global engagement, and sustainability.
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|
Academic Reputation Global academic survey | 30% |
Employer Reputation Global employer survey | 15% |
Faculty / Student Ratio | 10% |
Citations per Faculty Scopus, 5-year window | 20% |
International Faculty Ratio | 5% |
International Students Ratio | 5% |
International Research Network | 5% |
Employment Outcomes | 5% |
Sustainability | 5% |
the
Times Higher Education (THE)
Five pillars covering teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook.
THE uses 18 performance indicators grouped into five pillars to provide a balanced view of a research-intensive university's missions.
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|
Teaching — Reputation survey | 15% |
Teaching — Staff-to-student ratio | 4.5% |
Teaching — Doctorate-to-bachelor's ratio | 2% |
Teaching — Doctorates awarded per academic staff | 5.5% |
Teaching — Institutional income | 2.5% |
Research Environment — Reputation survey | 18% |
Research Environment — Research income | 5.5% |
Research Environment — Research productivity | 5.5% |
Research Quality — Citation impact | 15% |
Research Quality — Research strength | 5% |
Research Quality — Research excellence | 5% |
Research Quality — Research influence | 5% |
International Outlook — International students | 2.5% |
International Outlook — International staff | 2.5% |
International Outlook — International co-authorship | 2.5% |
Industry — Income | 2% |
Industry — Patents | 2% |
shanghai
ShanghaiRanking — Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
Objective bibliometric and prestige indicators focused on research output and elite performance.
ARWU uses six objective indicators based on Nobel/Fields laureates, highly cited researchers and publications in top journals.
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|
Alumni of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals | 10% |
Staff of an institution winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals | 20% |
Highly Cited Researchers (Clarivate) | 20% |
Papers published in Nature and Science | 20% |
Papers indexed in Science Citation Index-Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index | 20% |
Per capita academic performance of an institution | 10% |
usnews
U.S. News Best Global Universities
Heavy emphasis on research reputation, publication volume and citation impact.
U.S. News ranks global universities using 13 indicators of academic research performance and reputation.
| Indicator | Weight |
|---|
Global research reputation | 12.5% |
Regional research reputation | 12.5% |
Publications | 10% |
Books | 2.5% |
Conferences | 2.5% |
Normalized citation impact | 10% |
Total citations | 7.5% |
Number of publications among the 10% most cited | 12.5% |
Percentage of total publications among the 10% most cited | 10% |
International collaboration — relative to country | 5% |
International collaboration | 5% |
Number of highly cited papers (top 1%) | 5% |
Percentage of highly cited papers (top 1%) | 5% |