The latest THE World University Rankings 2023 has been published by the London-based higher education magazine Times Higher Education (THE). In the list of 1799 universities from 104 countries, Semmelweis University (SE) earns the best spot among Hungarian institutions again (201-250th place this year, up from 251-300th last year). This is the first time that a Hungarian university has been ranked among the top 250.
The World University Rankings compares universities on the basis of five indicators:
In addition to being the best ranked Hungarian university overall on the basis of the five indicators evaluated, Semmelweis University also received the highest scores among Hungarian institutions in three indicators (teaching, citations, international outlook). Semmelweis has improved in most indicators compared to last year, most significantly in the area of citations and research, SE said in a press release.
Centre for Theoretical Medicine of Semmelweis University (Photo: Balázs D. Kiss, Semmelweis University)
Among the Visegrad countries, Semmelweis received the best ranking, while four universities from Austria have been ranked in the top 250 (including three medical universities of Graz, Vienna and Innsbruck). In total, 12 universities from Austria are included in the list. Among the Visegrad countries,32 universities from Poland, 18 from the Czech Republic and 7 from Slovakia have received a rank.
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) is the second-best university in Hungary (601-800th, same as last year). ELTE is also the best ranked Hungarian university in research.
Four universities are ranked third in the national ranking: the University of Pécs, the University of Szeged, the University of Debrecen and Óbuda University are ranked 1001-1200.
Four other Hungarian universities (BME, Corvinus, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Pannonia) are ranked between 1201 and 1500, while the University of Miskolc is ranked 1501+. BME received the highest ranking among Hungarian universities in the indicator of industry income.
This year, the World University Rankings includes 1,799 universities, but a further 526 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the list. Thus, two universities from Hungary, the University of Sopron and Széchenyi István University, are included in the list (CEU from Austria is also included in this category).
The ranking of Hungarian universities in the World University Rankings:
For the seventh consecutive year, the University of Oxford has topped the global ranking. We recently reported that Oxford had gained the top spot in The Times university list for the first time in 12 years.
Harvard University remains in second place, while the University of Cambridge and Stanford University are ranked joint third. Seven US and three UK universities are in the top 10. Oxford tops the research pillar, while Harvard leads the teaching pillar. The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 universities, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).
Top 10 universities in the World University Rankings 2023:
In another prestigious global university ranking – the list published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been ranked first this year, meaning that MIT has been earning the top spot for more than a decade. In this list, which uses a different methodology and does not include Semmelweis University, the University of Szeged was ranked the best Hungarian university.
In a third global higher education ranking, compiled by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy – known as the Shanghai Ranking – four Hungarian universities (ELTE, SE, SZTE and BME) were included this year.
