Ruthe Goes To Oxford

Students no longer want to confine themselves within the boundaries of their own country. They are now looking for better scope and prospects outside of the country to consolidate their career further. The globalization of every sector has served their purpose as well. Though you can presently consider so many countries for your study abroad, the United Kingdom is still the favorite destination for thousands of international students every year.   

The United Kingdom is known worldwide as the ultimate destination for top-notch higher education. It comprises four countries, namely England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All these four countries have their own prestigious universities and colleges. A large number of universities in the UK are acclaimed across the world as institutes of academic excellence. An ideal blend of teaching and research forms the basis of every educational program offered here. The country with unending chronicles of culture and traditions entice students from China, India, Germany, USA and France in large numbers. It is ranked second after the United States of America as the most desired destination for a study abroad.

Some of the best universities in the UK include the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College of London, University College of London, University of St. Andrews, and University of Edinburgh. While Oxford and Cambridge Universities are located in England, the University of St. Andrews and University of Edinburgh belong to Scotland. There is also the Cardiff University which is the best university in Wales and well-known for numerous research programs.

If we take into account the admission procedure to study in UK, students should have proficiency in English to become eligible for a study there. If English is not your first language, you have to successfully clear an English preparatory program, Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or English Language GCSE (a minimum grade C or above). Students who want to pursue a master level program in any area other than business administration should appear for the entrance examination known as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). The MBA aspirants should submit the score of Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) to become eligible.

Ireland has been able to hold its own position despite the presence of top universities in England, Wales and Scotland. It is the land of great poets, dramatists, and novelists. The country, of late, is witnessing a fast economic growth in the field of production, pharmaceuticals, software development and international services. Ireland always emphasizes high-quality education and scientific research through the supreme cooperation and collaboration of its educational institutes. All the Irish universities attract students from dissimilar backgrounds and offer them a wide array of programs and teaching standards to make their study in Ireland truly world-class. Ireland is home to some famous universities such as University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, University College Cork and Dublin City University.

The Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS) have just published the 2009 ranking of the World’s top universities .We compared the ranking of the World’s Top-25 Universities according to THE-QS with the 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities ARWU.

Overall ranking: THE-QS 2009 versus ARWU 2008
The overall overlap of the two rankings is 72%, with 18 of the World’s Top-25 universities appearing in both the THE-QS and ARWU rankings. This means there are seven universities (more than one in four) that do not appear in each of the other lists.

THE-QS has many more British Universities than ARWU
There are twice as many British universities in the THE-QS ranking of the World’s Top-25 universities than in the ARWU. THE-QS finds that six (24%) of the World’s Top-25 universities are British compared to three (8%) for ARWU.

The difference is particularly striking for the World’s Top-5 universities, where there are four British Universities in the THE-QS (University of Cambridge [2nd], University College London [4th], Imperial College London [5th] and University of Oxford [5th]) compared to only one for the ARWU (University of Cambridge [3rd]).

THE-QS has many fewer public US universities than ARWU
There is only one public US university University of Michigan in the THE-QS ranking compared to six public US universities in the ARWU ranking. The University of California is represented four times in the ARWU ranking (Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco) and not once in the THE-QS ranking.

THE-QS is more international than ARWU
The THE-QS ranking of the World’s Top-25 universities includes more non-US universities than the ARWU ranking: 12 (48%) universities are non-US in THE-QS compared to 7 (28%) in the ARWU. In the THE-QS ranking, six countries are represented: US (13), UK (6), Japan (2), Australia (1), Canada (1), Switzerland (1) and Hong Kong (1). In the ARWU five countries are represented: US (18), UK (3), Japan (2), Switzerland (1) and Canada (1).

Stanford University
It is very striking to see that Stanford University is ranked 2nd in the world according to ARWU and only 16th according to THE-QS.

University of California – Berkeley
It is also striking to see that the University of California – Berkeley is ranked 3rd in the world according to ARWU and 36th according to THE-QS.

University College – London
Finally,University College – London is ranked 4th in the world according to THE-QS compared to only 22nd in the world according to ARWU.

Conclusions
The AllAboutUni.com assessment highlights a number of important differences between the two major rankings of the World’s Top-25 universities. THE-QS, which is a British publication, is a more international ranking but it appears to have a bias for British universities and a bias against public US universities. In addition, two highly ranked universities in ARWU – Stanford (ranked 2nd) and Berkeley (ranked 3rd) – are ranked significantly lower by THE-QS.