QS World University Rankings 2020

Globally recognised and produced by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education publisher, the QS World University Rankings has consistently based its ranking methodology on six key metrics.

They include Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty/Student Ratio, Citations per faculty, International Faculty Ratio and International Student Ratio. Each metric contributes a percentage towards an institution’s final score.

Academic Reputation (40%)

With a weightage of 40%, the Academic Reputation metric is based on the Academic Survey - a collation of expert opinions from 94,000 higher education individuals regarding teaching and research quality - and is touted as the world’s largest survey of academic opinion.

Faculty/Student Ratio (20%)

QS considers measuring faculty/student ratio as the most effective proxy metric for teaching quality, as it relates to how institutions are able to facilitate meaningful access between students and lecturers. The ranking methodology also recognises that a high number of faculty members will represent a lower teaching burden.

Employer Reputation (10%)

This metric is based on responses to the QS Employer Survey, where employers are asked to identify institutions from which they source “the most competent, innovative and effective graduates.”

Citations per faculty (20%)

In order to calculate the Citations per Faculty metric, QS quantifies the total number of citations received by all faculty member-produced papers from an institution - across a five-year period.

QS performs a normalisation of citations as well, given that different academic fields have variant publishing cultures. This year alone, the ranking provider assessed 74 million citations from 13.5 million papers (excluding self-citations).

International Faculty Ratio and International Student Ratio (5% each)

Institutions that score well for these metrics are those that are capable of attracting faculty members and students from all over the world. An internationalised higher education sector provides the community with a multicultural environment, allowing for exposure to cultures and beliefs, besides raising students to develop international sympathies and global awareness.

Below, we’ve compiled the top universities in each destination - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, the UK and USA. If you’re keen to find out more on what it means to study abroad in any of these countries, fill in your details and make a free appointment with one of our friendly counsellors!

QS Top 10 Universities in Australia 2020

QS Top Universities in New Zealand 2020

QS Top 10 Universities in Canada 2020

QS Top 10 Universities in the UK

QS Top Universities in Ireland

If you’re ready to chase your goals, fill in your details and we’ll help you get to a top institution.