By Graeme Paton. Record numbers of British universities have been named among the world’s elite despite warnings that institutions risk being overtaken by global competitors during the financial crisis. New international league tables published today list six British universities in the top 20 compared with just four a year earlier. Read more...

Danny Byrne explains the research methodology and six main criteria behind the QS World University Rankings 2013
Top 200 QS World University Rankings 2013
The primary aim of the QS World University Rankings 2013 is to help students make more informed comparisons between their international study options. The rankings compare the world's top 800 institutions across broad areas that are of interest to prospective students: research, teaching, employability and international outlook. More...

By Grete Luxbacher. With government policy increasingly shaped by global rankings, Grete Luxbacher surveys the impact of the biggest tables.
Explore the Top 200 QS World University Rankings 2013
Global university rankings are a competitive business – not only for universities, but for the companies that research and publish them. They are simultaneously criticised and lauded. And while few can agree on which methodology is the most robust, there is consensus that global university rankings are here to stay, that no ranking is all encompassing and that their influence is growing. Students, universities and governments are taking note and action. The first international rankings, the Academic Ranking of World Universities or Shanghai Rankings, were published in 2003 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. More...