Universities are where all of us find ourselves and is one of the most important phases of
our lives. As such, it is pretty important to choose the right University to attend and
we bring you a list of the best universities in the world.
10. University of California – Founded in 1868, the University of California in Berkeley
has seen many great names passing through its halls who have achieved great things in
life. Actor Gregory Peck, journalist Jack London, former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto are just some of the famed alumni of the University of California. And today,
the university has become one of the most sought after in the world. One of the reasons
behind that is the fact that the Professors in the University have a combined 19 Nobel
prizes in between them in the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Economics. And what’s more
is that the graduates from the University of California won as many as 17 medals in
the 2012 Olympic games! The University of California houses around 27,000 undergraduate
and 10,000 post graduate students!
9. ETH Zurich – Also known as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH is known
especially for its computer science program which is considered to be the best in the
world. It was founded in 1854 with a vision to educate engineers and scientists and perhaps
the best example of that would be Albert Einstein who is an alumni of this prestigious University.
32 Nobel laureates in different fields have been associated with the University and there
are currently 16 departments in the University. What is great about the ETH Zurich is that
it is known for inter-disciplinary research in subjects ranging from architecture and
physics.
8. Imperial College – When a University gains the reputation for being the most innovative
university in Europe, you know that it will be one of the best in the world. The Imperial
College, London was founded in 1907 and was merged with the Royal College of Science,
the Royal school of mines and the City and Guilds College. And if you need any proof
of the credibility of the Imperial College, you only have to look at its alumni. They
include Sir Alexander Fleming, writer HG Wells, Guitarist Brian May and India’s former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi among many others. The College houses about 15,000 students and 8000
staff members and provides courses in science, engineering, medicine and business. The staff
and alumni of the Imperial college have a combined 14 Nobel Prizes, 3 Field Medals,
74 Fellows of the Royal society, 84 fellows of the Royal College of Engineering and 85
Fellows of the Academy of medical Sciences. Quite an impressive list we think!
7. Princeton University – Being accepted in the Princeton University is a thing of
much prestige. After all, this private Ivy league research university is the 4th oldest
institution of higher education in the US. It was founded in 1746 in Elizabeth but moved
to Newark in 1747 and moved once more in 1896 when it moved to Princeton. The list of achievements
by those associated with Princeton is long. 63 Nobel prizes, 14 Field medallists, 10 Turing
awards, 5 National Humanities medal winners, 209 Rhodes scholars, 12 US Supreme court Judges
and 2 US Presidents. And that is just scratching the surface! The Princeton University offers
programs in humanities, social sciences, natural science and engineering and is known for having
the highest endowment per student in the US. No wonder so many want to be a part of this
prestigious University!
6. Harvard University – When getting an honorary degree from a university becomes
a big deal even for Presidents of the world’s most powerful country, the University must
be special right? Perhaps that is why Harvard University is such a sought after place as
it has given honorary degrees to 13 US Presidents, including JFK in 1956. There is a different
sort of respect to be in the elite group of people who have passed through the halls of
this great university. Harvard university was established in 1636 as a private ivy league
research university and it is the oldest institution for higher learning in the US. And when it
merged with the Radcliffe college in 1977, Harvard also became a co-educational college.
The University is organized into 11 separate academic units and it has the largest academic
library in the world with 18 million volumes! The alumni of Harvard includes 8 US Presidents,
62 living billionaires, 359 Rhodes scholars and many heads of States! Not to mention 10
Academy awards, 48 Pulitzer prizes and 108 Olympic medals! That is quite a glorious list
of achievements, isn’t it?
5. MIT – The Massachusetts institute of Technology is a private research university
which was founded in 1861 in response to the increased industrialization that was spreading
across the US. So, the MIT adopted an approach where there was a lot of lab work in applied
science and engineering so that its students would be better equipped to deal with the
rapid advancements in technology. And that commitment towards innovation and the spirit
of enquiry still lives on to this date and that is the reason why those associated with
MIT have 91 Nobel prizes, 25 Turing Awards, 6 Field Medals, 34 Astronauts and 16 Chief
Scientists of the US Air Force in between them! MIT is also known for instilling a good
sense of entrepreneurship and if the annual revenues of the companies founded by MIT alumni
were to be added up, they would become the 10th richest nation in the world. Yes, nation!
There are around 1000 faculty members and over 11000 undergraduate and graduate students
at MIT and there are 5 different schools for architecture and planning, engineering, humanities,
arts and social sciences, management and science.
4. Cambridge University – Cambridge University is the second oldest university in the English
speaking world and as such it commands a lot of respect. The University came into existence
when a group of scholars left the Oxford University due to a dispute with the townspeople and
founded a University of their own. There are 6 schools in the Cambridge University which
take care of 100 academic departments and 31 constituent colleges. The Cambridge University
Press is the oldest publishing house in the world and that much history would by itself
be enough to win over many students. Add to that the fact that it has been associated
with 116 Nobel laureates, 10 Field Medallists, 6 Turing awards and 15 British Prime Ministers
as well and you can very well understand why students from over 120 countries come to study
at the Cambridge University. Some of the most notable alumni include Sir Isaac Newton, Charles
Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Marlowe, Ian McKellen, Tom Hiddleston and winners of
an astounding 170 Olympic medals!
3. Stanford University – If we said that the Silicon Valley is one of the pillars on
which technological innovations of the world stands, we would not be far from the truth.
And any university which had a hand in its development would definitely be one of the
world’s best. Stanford University is just that. It was founded in 1885 and is known
for its academic strength and wealth. There are 3 schools here which focus on 40 different
academic departments along with 4 professional schools focusing on law, medicine, education
and business. What’s more is that apart from 81 nobel laureates, 27 Turing awardees,
17 astronauts, 30 living billionaires and 7 Field medals, the Stanford University also
boasts of 270 Olympic medals! There are 700 university buildings and 18 independent labs,
centres and institutes which contribute towards the inquisitive spirit that the University
is known for.
2. California Institute Of Technology – The California Institute of Technology began as
a preparatory and vocational school which gained the attention of a few scientists.
Under their patronage, the vocational and preparatory schools were slowly phased out
and it took on its present name in 1921. Caltech, as it is popularly known, is one of the few
institutes that is dedicated primarily to the instruction of pure and applied sciences.
Perhaps the strong emphasis on science and engineering is why Caltech was managing $332
million in 2011 in sponsored research! It is no wonder really that it is one of the
most sought after Universities by budding scientists and technicians! Caltech is located
on a 124 acre primary campus and its alumni include some 72 Nobel laureates, 6 Turing
Award winners and 71 National medals of science in the US. Caltech has earned the reputation
of being the best university for engineering and technology in the world currently and
if they continue in the same vein, we doubt that they are going to lose that exalted position
anytime soon!
1. University of Oxford – When it comes to the most prestigious universities in the
world, there is no one that can lay a claim to a heritage that is richer than that of
the University of Oxford. It is the mecca of education in the world and is the oldest
university in the English speaking world. If the purpose of education is to pass on
the knowledge from one generation to the next, no one has done it better or more extensively
than Oxford. It also houses the largest library system in the UK with over 100 libraries.
Oxford University has about 20,000 students at a time and what is interesting is that
35% of them are foreign students. Perhaps what draws them to the University is that
69 Nobel laureates, 27 Prime Ministers of UK and many other heads of nations have been
associated with the University of Oxford. From Margaret Thatcher, Aung San Suu Kyi,
Bill Clinton, Indira Gandhi to Oscar Wilde, JRR Tolkien, John Locke and T E Lawrence,
there are many noted luminaries who the students can derive inspiration from. Oxford is also
home to the Rhodes scholarship, which is probably the most sought after scholarship in the world.
The Oxford University is made up of 38 constituent colleges who are each self-governed institutions
and being a city university, it does not really have a campus of its own but has many buildings
and facilities scattered throughout the city centre.
Don’t you wish you had done your education from one of these prestigious Universities?
Or maybe you have! And if so, do share your experiences and any tips you might have for
aspiring students in the comments section below. And remember to like our video and
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