Launch presentation from this year's QS World University Rankings, featuring top 20, headline analysis and information on most substantial methodology refinements since 2007

1. 2015/2016

2. 2
Everyone is facing changes
No one knows what's going on.
And everyone is changing places
Still the world keeps moving on.
Changes Hugh Laurie (2013)

3. CAREER
DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATIONAL
ACHIEVEMENT
and
INTERNATIONAL
MOBILITY
by fostering
MOTIVATED
PEOPLE
To enable
POTENTIALto achieve their
around the
3

4. OUR AUDIENCE
PROSPECTIVE
(INTERNATIONAL)
STUDENTS
ACADEMICS
PROSPECTIVE
PARTNERS
SCHOLARSHIP
PROVIDERS
CURRENT
STUDENTS
EMPLOYERS
UNIVERSITY
LEADERS
GOVERNMENT
ALUMNI
4

5. INTERNATIONAL STUDENT GROWTH
Worldwide
OECD
G20 countries
Europe
North America
Oceania
Source: OECD and UNESCO Institute for Statistics for most data on non-OECD countries.
2.1m
4.5m
5

6. OURAPPROACH
WORLD
CLASS
UNIVERSITY
A UNIQUE LENS
QS the only global ranking
authority to consider it
Central to the life goals of
most prospective students
An essential inclusion in
every QS assessment
6

7. ACADEMIC
REPUTATION
FACULTY
STUDENT
CITATIONS
PER FACULTY
EMPLOYER
REPUTATION
INT’L
STUDENTS
INT’L
FACULTY
 Consistent, simple
methodology
 Stable results
 Discipline
independent
 Language
independent
 Low dependence
on self-reporting
7
powered by

8. IN NUMBERS
OVER
3,500
UNIVERSITIES
CONSIDERED
COVERED IN
500+
MAJOR MEDIA
OUTLETS
OVER
30
ACADEMIC
ADVISORS
OVER
30m
DIRECT WEB
VISITORS
OVER
120k
SURVEY
RESPONSES
LED BY
50+
YEARS’ RANKING
EXPERIENCE
OVER
100m
TOTAL WEB
VISITORS
USED BY OVER
9
NATIONAL
GOVERNMENTS
JUST
28
NEW ENTRIES IN
2015
OVER
890
UNIVERSITIES
RANKED
RUN FOR
10
YEARS IN
2014
8

9. THE
(2010)
LEIDEN
(2009)
ARWU
(2003)
WEBO
(2004)
MINES
PARIS
TECH
(2007)
QS
(2004)
SCIMAGO
(2009)
GLOBAL
UNIVERSITIES
RANKING
(2009)
HIGH
PERFORMANCE
UNIVERSITIES
(2009)
CWUR
(2013)
UI
GREENMETRIC
(2010)
U-
MULTIRANK
(2014)
URAP
(2010)
HEEACT
/NTU
(2007)
9
US NEWS
(2014)
LINKEDIN
(2014)
ROUND
UNIVERSITY
RANKING
(2010)

10. 10

11. QS
7,389
THE
19,561
WEBO
32,388
ARWU
39,080
14 SEPTEMBER 201511

12. >25,000 media clips
>4,500 media clips from China
>64.5% share of voice
>1,240 hits on Google News today
topuniversities.com >30m
global >100m
148,950
views on 2014 launch video
>76,500 likes
@worlduniranking >9,900 followers
@topuniversities >9,900 followers
>3,500 group members
>30,000 app downloads
>1,000 active users/day
12

13. The QS World University Rankings, and the work of the QS Intelligence
Unit more broadly, are widely referenced, well respected and eagerly
anticipated by thought leaders worldwide
13
UNESCO
contributor
Recognised and
followed by
governments and
leading politicians
The only
international
“IREG Approved”
rankings
Engaged with
leading employers
Fuelling broader
research

14. 14

15. 15
The most dangerous
phrase in the language
is, “We’ve always done
it this way.”
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
Pioneering Computer Scientist
1906-1992

16. WHAT’S NEW SINCE 2014?
16
FACULTY AREA
NORMALIZATION
INTRODUCED
AFFILIATION
THRESHOLD
FOR PAPERS
ADDED 28 NEW
UNIVERSITIES
REMOVED
SUPERFLUOUS
SCOPUS
CONTENT TYPES
EXTENDED
SURVEY
WINDOWS TO
FIVE YEARS

17. 76,798
44,226
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
SURVEY MEASURES
17 ACADEMIC
EMPLOYER

18. SCOPUS CONTENT TYPES
18
In consultation with Elsevier, some (typically not citation
yielding) content types have been excluded from analysis:
 Article
 Review
 Conference Paper
 Book
 Book Chapter
 Article in Press
 Business Article
 Abstract Report
 Conference Review
 Editorial
 Erratum
 Letter
 Note
 Press Release
 Short Survey
IN OUT

19. Yerevan Physics Institute, Yerevan, Armenia;b Institut für Hochenergiephysik der OeAW, Wien, Austria;c National Centre for Particle and High Energy Physics, Minsk,
Belarus;d Research Institute for Nuclear Problems, Minsk, Belarus;e Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium;f Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium;g Université
Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium;h Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium;j Université de Mons, Mons,
Belgium; Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil l Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil m Instituto de Fisica Teorica,
Universidade Estadual Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil n Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, Sofia, Bulgaria o Institute of System Engineering and Robotics,
Sofia, Bulgaria p University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria q Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing, China r State Key Lab. of Nucl. Phys. and Tech., Peking University, Beijing,
China s Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia t Technical University of Split, Split, Croatia u University of Split, Split, Croatia v Institute Rudjer Boskovic, Zagreb,
Croatia w University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus x Charles University, Prague, Czech Republicy Academy of Scientific Research and Technology of the Arab Republic of
Egypt, Egyptian Network of High Energy Physics, Cairo, Egypt z National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn, Estonia aa Department of Physics,
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland ab Helsinki Institute of Physics, Helsinki, Finland ac Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland ad DSM/IRFU,
CEA/Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, Franceae Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet, Ecole Polytechnique, IN2P3-CNRS, Palaiseau, France af Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien,
Université de Strasbourg, Université de Haute Alsace Mulhouse, CNRS/IN2P3, Strasbourg, France ag Centre de Calcul de l'Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de
Physique des Particules, CNRS/IN2P3, Villeurbanne, France ah Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS-IN2P3, Institut de Physique Nucléaire de
Lyon, Villeurbanne, France ai E. Andronikashvili Institute of Physics, Academy of Science, Tbilisi, Georgia aj Institute of High Energy Physics and Informatization, Tbilisi
State University, Tbilisi, Georgia ak RWTH Aachen University, I. Physikalisches Institut, Aachen, Germany al RWTH Aachen University, III. Physikalisches Institut A,
Aachen, Germany am RWTH Aachen University, III. Physikalisches Institut B, Aachen, Germanyan Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Hamburg, Germany ao University of
Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany ap Institut für Experimentelle Kernphysik, Karlsruhe, Germany aq Institute of Nuclear Physics Demokritos, Aghia Paraskevi, Greece
ar University of Athens, Athens, Greece as University of Ioánnina, Ioánnina, Greece at KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary
au Institute of Nuclear Research ATOMKI, Debrecen, Hungary av University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary aw Panjab University, Chandigarh, India ax University of
Delhi, Delhi, India ay Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, India az Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India ba Tata Institute of Fundamental Research - EHEP,
Mumbai, India bb Tata Institute of Fundamental Research - HECR, Mumbai, India bc Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran bd INFN Sezione di
Bari, Bari, Italy be Università di Bari, Bari, Italy bf Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy bg INFN Sezione di Bologna, Bologna, Italy bh Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy bi INFN
Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy bj Università di Catania, Catania, Italy bk INFN Sezione di Firenze, Firenze, Italy bl Università di Firenze, Firenze, Italy bm INFN Laboratori
Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati, Italy bn INFN Sezione di Genova, Genova, Italy bo INFN Sezione di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy bp Università di Milano-Bicocca, Milano,
Italy bq INFN Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Italy br Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy bs INFN Sezione di Padova, Padova, Italy bt Università di Padova, Padova, Italy
bu Università di Trento (Trento), Padova, Italy bv INFN Sezione di Pavia, Pavia, Italy bw Università di Pavia, Pavia, Italy bx INFN Sezione di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
by Università di Perugia, Perugia, Italy bz INFN Sezione di Pisa, Pisa, Italy ca Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy cb Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Pisa, Italy cc INFN Sezione di
Roma, Roma, Italy cd Università di Roma La Sapienza, Roma, Italy ce INFN Sezione di Torino, Torino, Italy cf Università di Torino, Torino, Italy cg Università del Piemonte
Orientale (Novara), Torino, Italy ch INFN Sezione di Trieste, Trieste, Italy ci Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy cj Kangwon National University, Chunchon, South Korea
ck Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea cl Chonnam National University, Institute for Universe and Elementary Particles, Kwangju, South Korea cm Korea
University, Seoul, South Korea cn University of Seoul, Seoul, South Korea co Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea cp Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
cq Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Mexico City, Mexico cr Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, Mexico cs Benemerita Universidad
19
1 PAPER, 1949 CITATIONS...

20. WHERE DO CITATIONS COME FROM?
20
Arts &
Humanities
Engineering &
Technology
Life Sciences &
Medicine
Natural
Sciences
Social Sciences
& Management
The average distribution of citations across faculty areas for QS
mapped institutions in Scopus (2010-2014)

21.  Methodological refinements for 2015 and beyond

22. REFINEMENT TIMELINE
Publish
Eureka!? Renewed partnership
with Elsevier helps
develop even stronger
understanding of and
access to Scopus data
02
Initial
Model
Elsevier
Renewal
Revised
Model
Changes
Adopted
The initial model
was developed in
August 2014 after
the initial idea to
use faculty areas
emerged
01
Revised model correcting
for language reality
modelled and proposed to
QS global advisory board.
Meets strong positive
support.
03
Following Advisory
Board engagement
new approach is
adopted and folded
into new rankings
analysis
04
Simultaneous publication
across channels and partners.
Press and social media
campaigns initiated
05
22
Key communication
milestones

23. 23
London Business School
UC San Francisco
Nanyang Technological University
Johns Hopkins University
City University of Hong Kong
University of Western Australia
KAUST

24. BEFORE
24
AFTER
1% 6%51%17% 24% 15% 24% 11%26%23%
LIFE SCIENCES &
MEDICINE
ARTS &
HUMANITIES
SOCIAL SCIENCES &
MANAGEMENT
ENGINEERING &
TECHNOLOGY
NATURAL
SCIENCES

25. 1 1 1
2
2
2
4
3
4 4
5
5
5
6 6
7 7 7
8 8 8
9 9 9
10 10
10
11 11
12 12 12
13 13 13
14
14
14
15 15
16 16 16
17
17 17
18
19
19
19
2025

26. 34 COUNTRIES IN TOP 200
26
UnitedStates
UnitedKingdom
Netherlands
Germany
Australia
Canada
Japan
China
SouthKorea
Switzerland
France
HongKong
Sweden
Belgium
Denmark
Spain
Taiwan
Austria
Brazil
Finland
India
Ireland
Israel
NewZealand
Norway
Singapore
Argentina
Chile
Italy
Malaysia
Mexico
Russia
SaudiArabia
SouthAfrica
49 30 12 11 8 7 5 4 3 2 1

27. Average number of years
younger for this year’s top
200
27

28. Countries featured in the
top 200
28

29. 14.5
Average movement in the
top 200
29

30. 7%
Increase in number of
international students at
top 100 universities
30

31. 31

32. 32

33. 33
Essentially, all
models are wrong,
but some are useful
George E.P. Box
“Accidental Staistician”
1919-2013

34. CONTEXTS
DIGGING DEEPER
34
LEAGUE
TABLES
SUBJECTS
ASPECTS TYPES
QS Global 200
Business Schools
CLASSIFICATIONS

35. No part of this presentation can be reproduced in any media without explicit permission

36. THE “OSCARS OF HIGHER
EDUCATION”
 International recognition for best practice in
teaching – long overlooked by rankings
 Separate focus on online, blended and classroom
based learning
 Regional and subject categories
 International judging panel
 Enterprise category
36

37. OVER 400 APPLICATIONS FROM OVER 50 COUNTRIES
37
10%
25%
4%
2%
25%
14%
14%
Africa
Australasia
Latin America
Asia
Eastern Europe & Central AsiaEurope
US & Canada
4%
Middle East

38. THANK YOU
topuniversities.com
iu.qs.com
ben@qs.com
intelligenceunit@qs.com
facebook.com/
universityrankings
@bensowter
@worlduniranking
#QSWUR
linkedin.com/in/bensowter
38

39. THE TECHNICAL BIT
𝑁𝑇𝐶𝐶 ≡
𝑛
𝑛 𝑓𝑎
𝑓=1
5
𝐶𝑓 𝑤𝑓 𝑎 𝑓
𝑤𝑓 ≡
𝑛 𝑓𝑎
5𝑥 𝑓
𝑎 𝑎ℎ,𝑠𝑠 ≡
𝑟 𝑓−𝑟 𝑓𝑚𝑖𝑛
1−𝑟 𝑓𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑟𝑎ℎ,𝑠𝑠 ≡ 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑝 𝑓
𝑝 𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑥
1
𝑎 𝑒𝑡,𝑙𝑠,𝑛𝑠 ≡
5− 𝑎 𝑎ℎ+𝑎 𝑠𝑠
3
39
𝑛 = total citation count prior to normalization
𝑛 𝑓𝑎 = sum of total citation count across the five faculty areas
𝐶𝑓 = count of citations for the given faculty area for the
institution in question
𝑤𝑓 = weighting factor for the given faculty area
𝑎 𝑓 = weighting adjustment for given faculty area
𝑥 𝑓 = count of citations for the given faculty area
𝑟𝑓 = ratio of a country’s papers in the faculty area to the most
productive country in the faculty area, in relative terms
𝑟𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛 = the lowest value of 𝑟𝑓 across all countries
𝑓 = current faculty area, which can be one of:
𝑎ℎ = Arts & Humanities
𝑒𝑡 = Engineering & Technology
𝑙𝑠 = Life Sciences & Medicine
𝑛𝑠 = Natural Sciences
𝑠𝑠 = Social Sciences & Management
𝑝 𝑓 = mean proportion of papers from the faculty area for the
institution’s home country
𝑝 𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑥 = the maximum value of 𝑝 𝑓 where the paper count in that
faculty area for the given country exceeds the global
average

40. THE TECHNICAL BIT - EXAMPLE
𝑁𝑇𝐶𝐶 ≡
𝑛
𝑛 𝑓𝑎
𝑓=1
5
𝐶𝑓 𝑤𝑓 𝑎 𝑓
𝑁𝑇𝐶𝐶 ≡ 0.86
32,962
+14,303
+12,110
+17,330
+19,144
𝑁𝑇𝐶𝐶 ≡ 81,979
40
𝑛 = 44,900,880
𝑛 𝑓𝑎 = 52,497,999
𝑎ℎ 𝑒𝑡 𝑙𝑠 𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑠
𝐶𝑓 1,905 12,515 26,764 20,263 8,069
𝑥 𝑓 581,786 9,959,717 25,156,050 13,309,271 3,491,175
𝑤𝑓 18.05 1.05 0.42 0.79 3.01
𝑟𝑓 96.0% 81.0%
𝑟𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛 3.0% 10.0%
𝑎 𝑓 95.9% 108.4% 108.4% 108.4% 78.9%
𝑝 𝑓 5.80% 20.25% 35.92% 20.57% 17.46%
𝑝 𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑥 6.04% 21.58%
𝐶𝑓 𝑤𝑓 𝑎 𝑓 32,962 14,303 12,110 17,330 19,144