The University of Cambridge has dropped out of the top three global universities for the first time in over a decade, the annual QS World University Rankings have revealed.
According to the list, the elite institution is the highest ranked in the UK, but has fallen from third place to fourth - its lowest ranking since the league tables were launched in 2004.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been named the world’s best for the fifth consecutive year.
In total, 38 of the UK’s 48 top 400 universities dropped down the rankings this year. Cambridge, Oxford, UCL and Imperial remained within the top 10, but the latter slipped from eighth to ninth this year.
Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, argued that a combination of uncertainty over immigration and long-term funding issues could have influenced the UK’s performance.
Last year's rankings in brackets.
1. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MIT) (1)
2. STANFORD UNIVERSITY (3=)
3. HARVARD UNIVERSITY (2)
4. UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (3=)
5. CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (CALTECH) (5)
6. UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (6)
7. UCL (UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON) (7)
8. ETH ZURICH (SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOG) (9)
9. IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (8)
10. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (10)
11. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (11)
12. NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS) (12)
13. NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (NTU) (13)
14. ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FÉDÉRALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL) (14)
15. YALE UNIVERSITY (15)
16. CORNELL UNIVERSITY (17)
17. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY (16)
18. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA (18)
19. UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (21)
20. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY (22)
21. KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (KCL) (19=)
22. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (ANU) (19=)
23. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN (30=)
24= DUKE UNIVERSITY (29)
24= TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY (25)
26. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (32)
27. UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (HKU) (30=)
28. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY (UCB) (26)
29. THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER (33)
30. MCGILL UNIVERSITY (24)
31. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (UCLA) (27)
32. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO (34)
33. ECOLE NORMALE SUPÉRIEURE, PARIS (ENS PARIS) (23)
34. THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO (39)
35. SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY (SNU) (36)
36. THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (HKUST) (28)
37= KYOTO UNIVERSITY (38)
37= LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE (LSE) (35)
39. PEKING UNIVERSITY (41)
40. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO (UCSD) (44)
41. UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL (37)
42. THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE (42)
43. FUDAN UNIVERSITY (51=)
44. THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (CUHK) (51=)
45. UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (50)
46= KAIST - KOREA ADVANCED INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (43)
46= NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (NYU) (53)
46= THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY (45)
49= BROWN UNIVERSITY (49)
49= THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES (UNSW) (46=)
51= THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND (UQ) (46=)
51= THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK (48)
53= ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE PARISTECH (40)
53= UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON (54)
55. CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (57)
56. TOKYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (56)
57. UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM (55)
58. CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY (62=)
59. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON (65)
60. TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN (60)
61. SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY (70=)
62. DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (64)
63= OSAKA UNIVERSITY (58)
63= UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW (62=)
65. MONASH UNIVERSITY (67)
66. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN (59)
67. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN (77)
68= LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITÄT MÜNCHEN (75)
68= NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY (NTU) (70=)
68= UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN (69)
71. GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (GEORGIA TECH) (84)
72. RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITÄT HEIDELBERG (66)
73. LUND UNIVERSITY (70=)
74. DURHAM UNIVERSITY (61)
75= THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM (70=)
75= TOHOKU UNIVERSITY (74)
77. UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS (68)
78. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL (79)
79. KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN (82=)
80. UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH (85=)
81. THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND (82=)
82. UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (76)
83. POHANG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (POSTECH) (87=)
84. THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD (80)
85= UNIVERSIDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (124=)
85= UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS (UCD) (85=)
87. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON (81)
88. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY (99)
89. BOSTON UNIVERSITY (91)
90. RICE UNIVERSITY (106)
91. UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI (96=)
92. PURDUE UNIVERSITY (89=)
93. UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (87=)
94. UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA (96=)
95= PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY (101)
95= UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA (89=)
97. KTH, ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (92)
98= KIT, KARLSRUHER INSTITUT FÜR TECHNOLOGIE (93)
98= KOREA UNIVERSITY (104)
98= TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN (TCD) (78)
98= UPPSALA UNIVERSITY (102)
