Best universities: 2024 ranking

The first question to ask yourself when thinking about studyng is: What do I want to study? Which is then followed by the question: Where?

It is quite challenging to get an overview of all the bachelor's and master's degrees out there. If you don't know precisely what you want to study, it can be helpful to check out the majors and degrees offered by some universities offer, as well as the areas of research in which they invest. Some universities provide interdisciplinary studies, which can be exciting when you are interested in many fields.

Knowing what you want to study is already a significant step and narrows down choices for your future university. Besides the chosen major, other critical factors must be taken into account when choosing the right university for you, such as tuition and finances, ranking, and student life. We have compiled a list of further criteria to help you choose where you will spend the most exciting years of your life.

1. Academics

The number of majors and degrees the university offers, the areas of research, as well as the possibility to choose interdisciplinary studies, are essential things to consider. Characteristics such as majors offered indicate fields on which the university focuses. Universities that offer the most undergraduate majors are, for instance, the University of Washington's Seattle campus and the Brigham Young University-Provo, with 227 and 169 undergraduate majors, respectively.

An undergraduate degree is your first university degree and includes studies done between your high school and your bachelor's degree, whereas a graduate degree means any degree beyond your bachelor's, such as a Ph.D. or a master's degree.

Interdisciplinary studies combine different fields, allowing you to create your academic degree program according to your interests. This is mainly offered in the USA. When choosing a university for your bachelor's degree, especially in interdisciplinary fields, it is crucial to take a look at the topics and credits, in case you are planning to attend another university for a master's degree. This is quite important since master's studies may have requirements not necessarily fulfilled by your bachelor's degree. So, to make sure you have all the necessary credits to be able to do your master somewhere else, check out some master requirements and the topics you will have in your chosen university.

A university's research areas indicate how forward-thinking and research-led a university is. If you could imagine working in research in your field, this factor might be a critical one for you. For more info on these criteria, check out the top-ranking research universities, where factors like citations per paper, research papers per faculty, and prolific academic experts are taken into account.

If you already know what you want to study, the choice of possible universities can be narrowed down pretty much. Of course, this depends on what you decided on. Major subjects like law, psychology, languages, and mechanical engineering are offered by more universities than subjects like veterinary science. If you have a wide range of universities to pick from, the following criteria can help you decide which university could be the perfect match for you.

2. Rankings

A good indicator of the quality of your studies and the prospects for your future is the ranking of a university. Some of the most famous universities are mostly in the United States of America and in England, and it can be very hard to get a place in those institutions. The ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities) uses six objective indicators to rank universities: the number of highly cited researchers, the number of Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals won by the university's students and staff, the number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science, and other criteria.

According to the ARWU rank, the world's best university in 2016 is Harvard University, followed by Stanford University and UC Berkeley. Harvard is also the best university in the fields of social sciences, medicine and pharmacy, economics, and life and agricultural sciences. According to the Forbes rank, the best university in the world is Oxford University, followed by the California Institute of Technology. Other outstanding universities are the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, the University of Tokyo, and the University of Toronto.

The oldest universities in the world are located in Europe and North Africa; the oldest of all is the University of Bologna, dating back to 1088.

3. Tuition and finances

Finances are a key aspect when picking a university, with yearly tuition and available financial aids playing a crucial role. If you want to study abroad, the university’s yearly fee for international students would be relevant for you. Some of the best universities are the most expensive ones, such as New York City's Columbia University, with a yearly tuition fee of US$55,056. The good news is that there are great and affordable universities around the world, beyond Harvard and other Ivy League universities in the USA. One example is the Lomonosov Moscow State University, which is ranked on place 161 by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015-16 and has an average annual cost of US$5.744,50.

According to the FAIRFX ranking, cheap countries to study in with excellent universities are, for example, India, with an average annual cost of US$4.514; Germany with US$7.026; and Denmark, with US$7.290, considering tuition fees and the cost of living. Considering the cost of living and the tuition fee, as well as the university’s quality, Australia is the most expensive country to study in, followed by Singapore, the USA, and the United Kingdom. Germany, France, Nordic countries and Austria are especially interesting for international students since they provide education either for free or for low tuition fees. Here you can find out more about the cheapest places to study abroad.

Financial aid plays a significant role for students, especially in the USA, where college education is not free. If you depend on financial aid and you plan to study in the USA, institutions like the University of Texas, the California State University and the University of North Texas might be attractive for you, since they provide the highest amount of financial aid. If you want more information, check out the universities with the highest financial aid in the USA.

It is essential to know that taking a student loan is a big decision that has to be thought through carefully. Here are ten questions to ask before signing off on a student loan to make sure you are prepared.

A good indicator of a university's quality is the endowment and the budget spent on research. This is, especially in the USA, a critical factor and indicator of a university's health. Better endowment leads to, for example, more space to build university facilities, more financial aid for students, and better lab equipment.

The university with the most significant endowment is Harvard, with 37 billion USD per year. Of course, the budget spent on research highly depends on how wealthy a university is. The university that spends the most on research is the Johns Hopkins University.

4. Student life

If you are interested in a very international student life, universities like the Qatar University, the University of Luxembourg and the University of Hong Kong might be attractive for you, since more than 99% of their students are international. Check out the most international universities and get an insider view of how international universities around the world are. Of course, the more majors a university offers, the more significant is the diversity of students with different study backgrounds, which makes meeting new people very interesting.

Networking is one of the meaningful activities for students, and extracurricular activities are highly desirable – such as literature clubs, competitions in science and sport, as well as art and language lessons. Furthermore, the universities with the best alumni networks are Stanford University, followed by Harvard and Columbia University. If networking is essential for you, make sure to check out the universities with the best alumni networks in the USA.