KULeuven among the top 60 most prestigious universities in the world
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is ranked among the top 60 best universities in the world, according to a study carried out by the magazine ‘Times Higher Education’ (THE). This magazine bases its ranking on a survey on the reputation of hundreds of universities worldwide, carried out among 10,000 academics from nearly 150 countries.
The top 10 are all Anglo-Saxon institutions. The number 1 remains Harvard University in the United States, followed by the British universities of Cambridge and Oxford. The top 5 is completed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University. The first non-Anglo-Saxon university shown is the university of Tokyo, which ranks 12th place.
Those ranking from 1 to 50 in the THE list are allocated an individual place; from number 51 ranking is done in groups of 10 in alphabetical order. Therefore the KULeuven lies somewhere between the 51st and 60th place. This is a big improvement compared to last year, when it was ranked between 71 and 80. No other Belgian universities made it into the top 100.
THE admits that the ranking is based on a subjective opinion, "however, this subjective opinion is given by those who are the best informed about quality education and research. These people are leading academics from all over the world. And their opinion is extremely important", they confirm.
Phil Baty from THE is delighted for Belgium: ”It's very encouraging to see Belgium improving its position among the world elite with the rise of the KULeuven. A university needs a strong reputation to attract and retain talent. This result is therefore a positive signal for both the KULeuven and for Belgium”.