What do university rankings actually mean?

Ranking bodies look at the number of unique publications come out of an institution. This means not only articles and books, but conferences, patents, and citations in other work. More publications = higher ranking.

Are degrees harder at better universities?

First class degrees will be harder to get after universities agreed on measures to tackle grade inflation. Institutions across Britain should stop rounding up borderline marks and avoid discounting core or final-year modules, according to a report by Universities UK (UUK).

What is the Academic Ranking of World Universities?

The Academic Ranking of World Universities ( ARWU ), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2003, making it the first global university ranking with multifarious indicators.

Where does the University of British Columbia rank?

These are the University of British Columbia (20th for architecture; 43rd in the world rankings), the University of Toronto (36th for architecture; 20th in the world rankings), McGill University (51-100 for architecture; 21st in the world rankings) and the University of Waterloo (51-100 for architecture; 169th in the world rankings).

How does ARWU rank universities in the world?

There are two categories in ARWU’s disciplinary rankings, broad subject fields and specific subjects. The methodology is similar to that adopted in the overall table, including award factors, paper citation, and the number of highly cited scholars.

Which is the number one University in the world?

For the fourth year in a row, the University of Oxford leads the rankings in first place, while the University of Cambridge falls to third. The California Institute of Technology rises three places to second, while Stanford, Yale, Harvard and Imperial College London all appear in the top ten. Mainland China now provides both