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 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.
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:
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:
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.