Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) took the eleventh place in the 2023 ranking of the world’s best universities published by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine, an improvement of four places. This makes ETH Zurich the best university globally outside the Top 10 which are all from the U.S. and the U.K. Before, ETH Zurich ranked ninth in the QS World University Rankings and twentieth in the Shanghai Rankings.
ETH Zurich has held top positions in international university rankings for years. (© ETH Zurich / Alessandro Della Bella).
Top research ranking
The THE rankings include 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, reportedly making them the largest and most diverse university rankings to date. The table is based on 13 “carefully calibrated” performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook. ETH scored 97.7 points out of a maximum of 100 for international outlook and 95.4 points for research.
ETH Zurich achieved its highest ranking in the area of research, where it moved up three places to 10th position. In the other areas, the Swiss university remained fairly stable, taking top positions in teaching (17th place) and international outlook (14th place). From 2011 to 2023, ETH Zurich has always achieved a ranking between 9th and 15th. According to the authors this year, “the university makes a notable contribution to the global science and technology industry”.
Swiss university strength
“The latest THE rankings underline once again how ETH is on an equal footing with the world’s best universities,” commented Paul Cross, from ETH Zurich’s Institutional Research. The year-on-year improvement needed to be put in context, however. “The differences between the top institutions are so minor that even nuances can lead to shifts in rankings. We should bear in mind that rankings are just one perspective and significantly simplify the complex nature and impact of universities on society.”
As in previous years, UK and US universities occupy the top places. “It is tremendous that a Swiss university can hold its own against this global competition year in, year out, but it cannot be taken for granted,” commented ETH President Joël Mesot. “Swiss universities have been strong by virtue of the right conditions and infrastructure provided by the federal government in the past. Our international collaboration, especially with our European partners, plays a key role in our success.”
The University of Oxford topped the THE ranking, ahead of both Harvard and Cambridge. After ETH, the next European universities can be found in 29th, 30th, and 33rd place, namely the University of Edinburgh, the Technical University of Munich, and the Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) is at 41 in the rankings, while the University of Zurich is at 83 and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) comes in the grouping 801 to 1,000. The University of Tokyo at rank #39 was the best Japanese academic institution in the THE list. The full ranking can be viewed here.
Text: Text: SCCIJ with material of ETH Zurich and S-GE
