After the publication of the Shanghai ranking and the QS ranking, the THE (Times Higher Education) ranking is an international reference in the university ranking. Revealed on Wednesday 27 September, 1,904 institutions from 108 countries were evaluated according to 5 criteria (teaching, reputation and quality of research, international openness, innovation): the France is gaining places with this year 44 institutions in this ranking of which here are the lessons.
Oxford remains first, Harvard loses two places...
The ranking of the Top 10 in the world is moving a lot but the institutions remain the same. The United States is the most represented country in the ranking, but Harvard is down two places this year to Cambridge and MIT.
Switzerland and China are on the doorstep of the Top 10, with Polytechnique Zurich ranking 11th and Tsinghua University in Beijing coming in 12th in the global rankings.
PSL University climbs 7 places to the 40th best university in the world
For the France, it is far behind with only one university in the top 50, 4 in the top 100 and 10 in the top 400. International openness (students and professors) remains the greatest strength of French universities, with - new this year - a great increase in its capacity for innovation and impact on the real economy. But these indicators remain a minority in the methodology of this ranking (see below the details).
The French "quality of research" and the number of citations of papers are pointed out by the THE, as well as in the European QS ranking revealed last week. The grouping of schools and universities to gain visibility in world rankings.
- PSL University (Paris Sciences et Lettres - grouping of several prestigious schools including Dauphine, L'école des Chartres, ENS, Mines...) is the best ranked for the France, rising from 47th to 40th place this year.
- Université Paris-Saclay (also a group of several schools and universities and IUTs) is in second place among French institutions rising from 93rd to 58th place this year.
- The Institut Polytechnique de Paris moved up 24 places to 71st place. Sorbonne University won 15, placing 75th.
The full ranking of the Times Higher Education's World University Rankings 2024 for the 44 French institutions:
The new methodology of Times Higher Education 2024
Published since 2010, the THE ranking evaluates universities both on their teaching and research activities and their impact on the economy. Its methodology has evolved slightly this year now based on 18 performance indicators instead of 13, grouped into 5 large sets. Here are the 5 rands criteria and their weight in the university ranking:
29.5% - Teaching (number of teachers per student, reputation of teachers...)
29% - Research environment (reputation, revenue, productivity/volume)
30% - Research Quality (number of citations, strength, excellence and influence)
7.5% - International openness (number of foreign students or teachers, partnerships)
4% - Openness to business/economy (innovation, patents)
