November 19, 2004

Times of London ranks Purdue among world's best universities

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Times of London in a new survey ranking universities from all over the world ranked Purdue University 59th overall, 25th in North America, 22nd among U.S. universities and ninth among American public universities.

The Times Higher survey, a supplement released by the Times on Nov. 5, used five criteria – peer review (50 percent), research impact (20 percent), faculty-to-student ratio (20 percent), number of international students (5 percent) and international faculty (5 percent) – to rank the top 200 universities in 29 countries. The Times acknowledged that the use of scholarly citations in considering research impact and staffing levels helped science-oriented institutions, but said "the measures are as neutral as possible."

For the most heavily weighted criterion, peer review, 1,300 academics in 88 countries were surveyed. The survey took place in August and September.

Purdue Provost Sally Mason said being ranked among the top universities in the world is a recognition that Purdue is building upon its traditional strengths.

"Purdue has for decades been recognized worldwide both for the excellence and outreach of our agriculture and engineering programs and graduates," she said. "In the last 20 years, our Krannert School of Management has established itself on the national and world stage.

"I also think there's a growing awareness that in our strategic plan and in Discovery Park, we're putting multidisciplinary research together with an entrepreneurial effort and spirit that is attracting top faculty and students. It's an exciting time to be at Purdue."

Harvard University topped the survey, and 11 of the top 20 universities worldwide were U.S. institutions. The University of California, Berkeley ranked second, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, third, and California Institute of Technology, fourth. Oxford and Cambridge universities in England came in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Two Big Ten universities ranked ahead of Purdue. Michigan was ranked No. 31, and Illinois ranked 35. Indiana University ranked No. 174. No other universities from Indiana were ranked.

The Times editorial released with the survey said higher education is now part of a global marketplace. American universities made a strong showing, but "U.S. institutions are certainly less dominant than most would have predicted. … Japan, Australia, China and Singapore all have representatives in the top 20."

The Times Higher plans to publish further analyses of its data extending into specific disciplines, including the sciences, technology, biomedicine, social science and the arts and humanities.

Writer: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu

Source: Sally Mason, (765) 494-9709, sfmason@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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