Oxford University

One in five people who learn English worldwide do so with Oxford University Press materials. This international appeal may explain why almost 40 percent of the student body comes from outside the U.K.

Oxford’s academic community includes 80 Fellows of the Royal Society and 100 Fellows of the British Academy. Over 17,200 people applied for 3,200 undergraduate places in 2014.

However, despite thousands of undergraduate students willing to pay full tuition and centuries of accumulated assets, the highest source of income for Oxford continues to be research grants and contracts.

Oxford University traces its origins back to the 13th century. With its intellectual roots firmly planted in medieval scholasticism, Oxford has survived the centuries, adapted to the times, and grown into what it is today—one of the world’s most impressive centers of learning.

Perhaps more than any other school in the world, Oxford’s name has become synonymous with knowledge and learning. This is because the school runs the world’s largest—and arguably most prestigious—academic press, with offices in over 50 countries.

Columbia University

The university’s medical school—the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which was founded in 1767—produced the first M.D.’s in the 13 colonies. The school now graduates nearly 1,400 doctors per year.

Columbia is the leading university in the New York metropolitan area, which gives its students numerous unique opportunities that only proximity to Wall Street, the U.N., Broadway, and other epicenters of finance, politics, and culture can bring. The university’s ideal location also gives its students the chance to interact with various other respected institutions, such as New York University.

Eighty-two Columbians have won a Nobel Prize at some point in their careers.

As one of the colonial colleges and the fifth-oldest school in the United States, Columbia has a lot of history. That history has created an internationally recognized, elite university with an $8.2 billion endowment and a library containing nearly 13 million volumes.

Columbia University is spread across five distinct campuses in New York City, including Columbia College, the undergraduate division. In 2013, 26,376 students applied for 1,751 admittances to Columbia College.

University of delhi

             University of Delhi was established in 1922 as a unitary  teaching and residential university by an Act of the then Central Legislative Assembly of British Indian Government. In the beginning, only three colleges existed in Delhi at the time: St. Stephen's College founded in 1881, Hindu College founded in 1899 and Ramjas College founded in 1917, which were subsequently affiliated to it. The university thus had modest beginnings with only three colleges, two faculties i.e. Arts and Science and about 750 students. 
        The University has grown into one of the largest universities in India. At present, there are 16 faculties, 86 academic departments, 77 colleges and 5 other recognised institutes spread all over the city, with 132,435 regular students which includes 114,494 undergraduates & 17,941 postgraduates. There are also 261,169 students in non-formal education programme, of which UG students make up 258,831 where as PG students are 2,338 in number. Five departments namely Chemistry, Geology, Zoology, Sociology and History have been awarded the status of the Centres of Advanced Studies. These Centres of Advanced Studies have carved a niche for themselves as centres of excellence in teaching and research in their respective areas. In addition, a good number of university departments are also receiving grants under the Special Assistance Programme of the UGC in recognition of their outstanding academic work.

KU Leuven

KU Leuven is Belgium’s largest university, both in terms of students and research funding/expenditures. It attracts 41,000 students, 8,000 of whom are international. Also, 6,500 researchers from 120 countries work here. Combined, these groups represent 140 nationalities.

KU Leuven is a charter member of the league of European Research Universities. Its annual research expenditure is €418 million and the overall endowment is €950 million.

Despite the fact that its library burned down in both world wars, the school now has 30 auxiliary libraries with 4.3 million volumes. The school partners with a teaching hospital and has produced multiple Nobel Prize Laureates. 

Founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, the Catholic University of Louvain is the oldest Catholic university in the world. It is also the oldest university in the Low Countries. The quintessential humanist, Desiderius Erasmus, lectured at this school.

In 1968, this ancient university split into two parts: a Dutch-speaking (KU Leuven) and a French-speaking part (Université Catholique de Louvain). The French-speaking school subsequently relocated to the suburb of Louvain-la-Neuve.

University of Strasbourg

              Strasbourg is currently working in conjunction with the nearby universities of Basel, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, and Mulhouse in order to build a sophisticated Upper Rhine academic community. The university is exceptionally well situated to take on intercollegiate activities due to its location at the meeting point between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean countries.

Famous people associated with Strasbourg include the writers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Maurice Blanchot, the statesman Klemens von Metternich, the philanthropist/musicologist/theologian Albert Schweitzer, the physicist Max von Laue, the chemist Jean-Marie Lehn, the art historian Aby Warburg, and the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.

The University of Strasbourg is home to 43,000 students, of whom 20 percent are international. It is the second-largest university in France and boasts an impressive endowment of €430 million. Some 15 Nobel Prize winners are affiliated with the school.

More than 4,600 teachers and researchers staff the school, which has 79 research units, 32 libraries, 86 laboratories and research centers, and 110 buildings in all. Nearly 400 doctoral theses are submitted to the school annually.

University of California at Santa Cruz

                  In 2003, the university initiated a $330-million program to develop a new university-affiliated research center. Now, the school’s research is organized into two separate research units: the Institute of Marine Sciences and the Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics. Many of the schools in this ranking are ancient academies that have shaped the history of science since the enlightenment. The University of California at Santa Cruz, however, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year.

            So, how did such a young school earn a spot among such illustrious company? Well, for starters Santa Cruz has grown substantially despite its youth. It now has 15,000 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students who study in 65 majors and 41 graduate programs. But Santa Cruz has done more than just attract large numbers of students; It has also built a world-class faculty. Its instructors include 14 members of national academy of sciences, 26 members of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, and 35 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Harvard University

            Harvard University is the standard by which all other research universities are measured. No school has ever challenged its position as the world’s premier academic institution in the history of the Shanghai rankings. Founded in 1636 (only 16 years after the mayflower touched down at Plymouth Rock), Harvard is the oldest school in the world’s richest nation, and it has capitalized on the benefits this grants. Under manager Jack Meyer’s leadership, the school’s endowment fund grew from $4.6 billion to $25.8 billion in 15 years. Today, the university possesses over $36 billion, and its fortune is still growing.

                  Not only is Harvard dominant across a multitude of academic fields, it is also ideally situated to work alongside a variety of other schools. The most obvious example is MIT, but the greater Boston metropolitan area is also home to Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, Tufts, Brandeis, and several other research universities. This fact equips both students and faculty with endless opportunities for collaborative research.

Autonomous University of Madrid

               
                  The university is organized into eight schools: Philosophy and Arts, Psychology, Law, Sciences, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering and Medicine, offering a wide range of graduate and postgraduate study programmes. Classes are conducted mostly in Spanish, with an increasing number of courses taught in English, especially at Masters level. Campus life offers a rich variety of cultural activities, lifelong learning programmes, and opportunities for cooperation and volunteer work. UAM has a strong international vocation, with agreements with more than 500 international institutions and around 2000 exchange students every year from all over the world.Classes are conducted mostly in Spanish, with an increasing number of courses taught in English, especially at Masters level. In 2009 it was declared International Excellence Campus, together with the Spanish Research Council (CSIC). Since its establishment in 1968, UAM has had a strong research focus: 11 research institutes are located on campus, as well as the Madrid Science Park, with growing university-business collaboration (contracts, internships and sponsored chairs).  Additional facilities include, among others: halls of residence, a sports centre, language services, an infant school and a primary school, all within a campus which is green and compact, caters for disabled students, and strives to be environmentally sustainable.