The latest outing of the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) has recognised Switzerland’s universities as some of the best in the world. Five universities from Switzerland are in the top 100, with five others making the shortlist.

ETH Zurich ranked the best university in Switzerland

ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are the highest achievers, reaching 21st and 54th on the list respectively. Cities were the most prominent winners for Switzerland, with the universities in Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne being the most successful.

About the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)

The AWRU is a study published by the Center for World-Class Universities (CWCU) of Shanghai's Jiao Tong University. The Shanghai Ranking uses six objective indicators to review 1.800 universities around the world and determine which should be included in the top 1.000. Some of the metrics they use to calculate the rankings are:

• Number of highly cited researchers or academics.
• Number of papers published in the field of Nature and Science or cited in academic indexes.
• Number of alumni who have won a Field Medal or Nobel Prize.
• Number of current staff who have won Field Medals or Nobel Prizes.
• The per capita academic performance of an institution.

Swiss universities in the global top 100

Although the list is typically dominated by the UK and USA, five of Switzerland’s 11 universities are ranked in the top 100, with a further five ranking between 100th and 900th best in the world to come and study. 

The Swiss universities that made it into the top 100 were:

• 21. ETH Zurich.
• 54. University of Zurich.
• 60. University of Geneva.
• 87. University of Basel.
• 91. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).

Universities in Switzerland score highly in quality of education

ETH Zurich was the most praised as it delivered education on par with the famous universities of Oxford and Yale, while the Universities of Geneva and Basel excelled in producing science papers and delivering strong academic performances from its students.

This is not the first time universities in Switzerland have won awards for their academic achievements. ETH Zurich for example is the only university outside of the UK and USA to be part of the top 10 in the Times World University Rankings. Famous alumni of Swiss universities include Albert Einstein, Felix Bloch, Erasmus, Leonhard Euler and Friedrich Nietzsche.