Mayor Boris Johnson has declared London the ‘education capital of the world’ after an influential study showed the city has the greatest concentration of top class universities in the world.
According to the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, London is the only city in the world with four universities in the Top 50, more than Boston and New York (3) Paris, Sydney, Hong Kong and Beijing (2). The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) moves into the top 40 for the first time.
Mayor of London, Mr Johnson, said: “London is unequivocally the education capital of the world. With four of our universities in the top forty, the city’s education sector is going from strength to strength, attracting the world’s top talent and producing the next generation of great thinkers and leaders.”
The QS World University Rankings are designed to provide students with comparable, accurate data to make informed decisions about their educational future. This year the rankings place less emphasis on universities strong in medical science citations in order to acknowledge those institutions which are outstanding in the Arts and Humanities.
LSE Director Professor Craig Calhoun said: “LSE’s latest global university ranking as the best social science institution in the UK and second best in the world is testament to both the School and London’s reputation as a world class centre for education.
“For 120 years we have been located in the heart of London, providing outstanding teaching and research which focuses on real-world problems and helps shape government policy at the highest level.”
Ben Sowter, QS Head of Research says: “That the London School of Economics is a world-class institution is not news. Indeed they have been a firm fixture in the QS Top 100 for over a decade, but in any ranking system that places emphasis on Medicine and Sciences, their strength in their areas of specialty are never likely to shine as brightly as they ought to. The QS methodology now evens the playing field and LSE climbs 36 places to be counted, rightfully, amongst the world’s top 40.”
According to QS, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is the world’s top university followed by Harvard (2nd), The University Cambridge and Stanford University (3rd=).
To view the complete rankings, featuring the world’s top 891 universities as well as the Top 400 by Faculty areas: www.TopUniversities.com
