The global higher education research organization QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) released the 2020 QS World University Rankings at midnight on June 19, Beijing time. The data shows that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranks first, while Tsinghua University ranks 16th. Next, let’s take a look at the top 3 in the QS World University Rankings!
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, is a world-renowned private research university. Founded in 1861, MIT has made significant contributions to the development of technology in areas such as computing, radar, and inertial navigation systems.
MIT is known for its top-tier engineering and computer science programs, housing the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL), the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and the MIT Media Lab. It ranked first in engineering and second in computer science in the 2016-17 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and first in both engineering and computer science in the 2017-18 US News Graduate School Rankings, alongside Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, as academic leaders in engineering and technology. As of March 2019, MIT has produced 93 Nobel laureates (sixth in the world), 8 Fields Medalists (eighth in the world), and 26 Turing Award winners (second in the world) among its alumni, faculty, and researchers.
In the 2017-18 academic year, MIT ranked first in the QS World University Rankings, second in the US News World University Rankings, fourth in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and fifth in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In June 2018, Times Higher Education published its World University Reputation Rankings, where MIT ranked second, just behind Harvard University.
2. Stanford University
Stanford University, officially known as Leland Stanford Junior University, is located in Palo Alto, California, in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, near the world-famous high-tech region of Silicon Valley. Founded in 1885 and officially enrolling students in 1891, it covers approximately 33 square kilometers (8,180 acres), making it the sixth largest university in the United States by area.
Academically, Stanford University, along with the University of California, Berkeley in the North Bay, forms the academic center of the western United States. According to relevant statistics, as of October 2018, 83 Stanford alumni, professors, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes, ranking seventh in the world, 27 have won the Turing Award (the highest award in computer science), ranking first in the world, and 8 have won the Fields Medal (the highest award in mathematics), ranking eighth in the world. In the 2018-19 academic year, Stanford ranked second in both the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the QS World University Rankings, and third in both the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the US News World University Rankings. In the 2018-19 academic year, Stanford ranked third in the Times Higher Education World University Reputation Rankings.
Stanford has laid a solid foundation for the formation and rise of Silicon Valley, nurturing many leaders of high-tech companies, including founders of companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Google, Yahoo, Nike, Logitech, Snapchat, Electronic Arts, Sun Microsystems, NVIDIA, Cisco, and LinkedIn. Additionally, Stanford alumni include 30 billionaire entrepreneurs and 17 astronauts, making it one of the institutions that has produced the most members of the U.S. Congress. According to Forbes' 2010 ranking of universities with the most billionaires, Stanford ranked second with 28 billionaires, just behind Harvard University.
3. Harvard University
Harvard University, commonly referred to as Harvard, is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area. It is a world-renowned private research university and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. As of October 2018, Harvard has produced 158 Nobel laureates (the most in the world), 18 Fields Medalists (the most in the world), and 14 Turing Award winners (fourth in the world) among its alumni, faculty, and researchers. It holds a prestigious academic status and wide influence in various fields such as literature, medicine, law, and business, and is recognized as one of the top higher education institutions in the world today.
Harvard is also the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts colonial legislature, originally named New College, in honor of Reverend John Harvard, who generously supported the college in its early days. The school was renamed Harvard College in March 1639. In 1780, Harvard College officially became Harvard University. As of 2017, the university has over 6,700 undergraduate students and over 15,250 graduate students.
In the 2018-2019 academic year, Harvard ranked first in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), first in the US News World University Rankings, third in the QS World University Rankings, and sixth in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In June 2018, Times Higher Education published its World University Reputation Rankings, where Harvard ranked first.