Washington, DC:  U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings for more than 30 years, today announced the 2019 Best Global Universities rankings. In its fifth year, the rankings evaluate 1,250 schools across 75 countries, providing the most comprehensive assessment of research universities around the world.

Universities in the U.S. and United Kingdom remain at the top of the rankings. The top four schools are in the U.S., with Harvard University leading at No. 1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University follow at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The University of California–Berkeley takes the fourth spot, and the United Kingdom’s University of Oxford finishes out the top five.

With 227 schools ranked, the U.S. has the most institutions on the overall list of 1,250 schools, followed by the following countries:

China: 130

U.K.: 78

Japan: 67

Germany: 62

“When we first started publishing Best Global Universities, the rankings evaluated 500 schools in 11 countries. Since then, we’ve added 750 schools and have expanded to 75 nations,” said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News. “One thing has remained the same: Schools that prioritize quality academic research remain at the top of the rankings.”

In addition to the overall list, the newest edition of Best Global Universities includes rankings by country, region and subject.

Three of the top 10 schools in engineering and four of the top 10 schools in computer science are based in China, with Tsinghua University coming in at No. 1 in both subjects. Across the 22 subject rankings, which evaluate the humanities, applied sciences, mathematics and more, Harvard University ranks No. 1 in more subjects than any other school, taking the top spot in 10 of these rankings.

These nations performed the best in the following subject rankings, listed in order of countries with the most schools on each list:

Computer science: U.S., China, U.K., Australia (tie), Canada (tie)

Economics and business: U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada (tie), China (tie)

Engineering: U.S., China, U.K., Italy, Canada

Neuroscience and behavior: U.S., Germany, China, Italy, U.K.

Based on Web of Science data and InCites metrics provided by Clarivate Analytics, the Best Global Universities methodology weighs factors that measure a university’s global and regional research reputation and academic research performance. For the overall rankings, this includes bibliometric indicators such as publications, citations and international collaboration. Each subject ranking has its own methodology based on academic research performance and reputation in that specific area.

“Higher education continues to be more global, meaning that prospective students are looking beyond universities in their country when thinking about where to enroll,” said Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News. “The Best Global Universities rankings offer students the resources to begin their search, whether they’re interested in a specific part of the world or subject for study.”

2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities:

Overall Best Global Universities – Top 10

1. Harvard University (U.S.)
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.)
3. Stanford University (U.S.)
4. University of California—Berkeley (U.S.)
5. University of Oxford (U.K.)
6. California Institute of Technology (U.S.)
7. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
8. Columbia University (U.S.)
9. Princeton University (U.S.)
10. University of Washington (U.S.)

Africa – Top 3

1. University of Cape Town (South Africa)
2. University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)
3. University of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa)

Asia – Top 3

1. National University of Singapore
2. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
3. Tsinghua University (China)

Australia/New Zealand – Top 3

1. University of Melbourne (Australia)
2. University of Sydney
3. University of Queensland (Australia)

Europe – Top 3

1. University of Oxford (U.K.)
2. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
3. Imperial College London

Latin America – Top 3

1. Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil)
2. Pontificia University Católica de Chile
3. State University of Campinas (Brazil)

The Best Global Universities rankings serve the broader U.S. News mission of providing trusted information and rankings – such as Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and Best Online Programs – to help all students navigate their higher education options. For Chinese students in particular, U.S. News offers online resource centers published in Chinese to help guide prospective undergraduate and graduate students interested in studying abroad. In addition, U.S. News collaborates with U.S. News Global Education, a subsidiary company of Shorelight Education, to help international students and their families connect with universities.