Sep 8, 2024
The new academic year is approaching, a busy time for graduates and applicants, who need to choose and plan their future in advance. In this regard, information about universities in Spain and Europe is of great importance.
According to the latest information on university rankings, two Spanish universities have unfortunately disappeared from the world's top 1000. The list includes 36 Spanish universities, two fewer than in the 2023 ranking, although most have improved or maintained their positions..
A total of 36 Spanish universities (two fewer than a year ago) are among the top 1,000 in the world, and most of them have managed to improve or maintain their positions compared to 2023, according to the Shanghai University Rankings 2024 published today.
For the second consecutive year, two Spanish universities have been left out of the ranking of the world's most prestigious universities: in 2023 there were 38, and in 2022, 40. The Pablo Olavide University of Seville and the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid, which were included last year, are no longer on the list.
Once again, no Spanish university is among the world's top 100, where the US university dominates. The national medal table is led by the University of Barcelona, which ranks 151-200 and has moved up one block (201-300 in 2023). It is followed by the University of Valencia (201-300), which also rises from the 301-400 range in 2023.
Having a Nobel or Fields medal is a key indicator.
The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), better known as the Shanghai Ranking, has been published since 2003 and is updated annually by Jiao Tong University, based in Shanghai. Campuses are ranked one by one up to 100 and then organized into groups.
The list analyzes six metrics: the number of students who have won a Nobel Prize or a Fields Medal (10%); faculty who have won a Nobel Prize or a Fields Medal (20%); research citations (20%); articles in Nature & Science journals (20%); academic achievement per capita (10%); and articles in the Science Citation Index Extended and the Social Science Citation Index (20%).
For this 2024 edition, Jiao Tong University carefully examined more than 2,500 higher education institutions and published the top 1,000. For the 22nd consecutive year, Harvard tops the rankings, followed by Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The top ten also includes Cambridge (4), Berkeley (5), Oxford (6), Princeton (7), Caltech (8), Columbia University (9), and the University of Chicago (10).
In Spain, among the top ten in the first half of the table (151 and 500), along with these universities in Barcelona and Valencia, are the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Madrid, the Complutense University of Madrid, and the Pompeu Fabra University, all in the 301-400 bracket, as in 2023; the University of Granada (301-400, compared to 201-300 in 2023); the Basque Country (301-400, an improvement over 401-500); the Polytechnic Institute of Valencia (401-500, as before); and the University of Seville, which jumped from 501-600 a year ago to 401-500. Only ten rose one place, six dropped one place, and twenty remained in the same position as the publication.
The following universities improved their rankings: the University of Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, La Laguna, the Basque Country, Murcia, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, Alcalá, and Castilla-La Mancha.
The following universities decreased their rankings: the University of Granada; Alicante; the Polytechnic Institute of Catalonia; Oviedo, Vigo, and Jaén.
As for 2023, the following universities remain on the list: Autonomous University of Barcelona and Madrid, Complutense University, Pompeu Fabra University, Polytechnic Institute of Valencia and Madrid, University of Navarra, Salamanca University, Jaume I University, Balearic Islands University, Lleida University, Extremadura University, Malaga University, Rovira University, and Virgilli University of Girona, Carlos III University, Cadiz University, Cantabria University, Cordoba University, and Valladolid University.
In continental Europe, Parisian universities top the list.
In continental Europe, Paris-Saclay (12) leads the ranking, moving up three places and remaining the best, followed by ETH Zurich. Among Asian universities, Tsinghua (22nd) and Melbourne in Oceania remain at the top.
Mainland China continues to have a strong presence in the rankings, with 203 institutions in the top 1000, ahead of the 183 in the United States. However, the US maintains its leading position in the top 100, with 38 institutions, compared to 13 in Mainland China and 8 in the UK..
For several years now, China's strong rise has been pushing Western universities back. France has improved its ranking, with 25 universities in the Top 1000, 18 in the Top 500, and its Top 100 includes Paris-Saclay (12), PSL (33), the Sorbonne (41) and the Université de Paris (69)..
In comparison with the 36 Spanish universities among the world's top 1,000, neighbouring countries such as the United Kingdom have 62, Germany (51), Italy (42), France (25), the Netherlands and Sweden (13 each). Austria (11), Switzerland (9), Belgium (8), Denmark (6), Finland (7), Sweden (8) and the United Kingdom (8).,
Below are the Spanish universities that appear in the 2024 ranking (first column) and the score they have obtained in 2023: Universidad de
Barcelona 151-200---------201-300
University of Valencia 201-300---------301-400
Autonomous University of Barcelona 301-400---------301-400
Autonomous University of Madrid 301-400---------301-400
Complutense University of Madrid 301-400---------301-400
Pompeu Fabra 301-400---------301-400
University of Granada 301-400---------201-300
University of the Basque Country 301-400---------401-500
Polytechnic University of Valencia 401-500---------401-500
University of Seville 401-500---------501-600
University of La Laguna 501-600---------601-700
University of Murcia 501-600---------701-800
University of Navarra 501-600---------501-600
University of Salamanca 501-600---------501-600
University of Santiago de Compostela 501-600---------601-700
University of Zaragoza 501-600---------601-700
Polytechnic University of Madrid 601-700---------601-700
Jaume I 601-700---------601-700
University of Alicante 601-700---------501-600
University of the Balearic Islands 601-700- --------601-700
University of Lleida 701-800---------701-800
University of Alcalá 701-800---------901-1000
University of Castilla–La Mancha 701-800---------801-900
University of Extremadura 701-800-------- -701-900
University of Málaga 701-800----------701-800
Rovira i Virgili 701-800---------701-800
Polytechnic University of Catalonia 801-900----------701-800
University of Girona 801-900----------801-900
University of Oviedo 801-900----------601-700
University of Vigo 801-900---------501-600
Carlos III University 901-1000---------901-1000
University of Cádiz 901-1000--------901-10000
University of Cantabria 901-1000---------901-1000