The definitive ranking of the 39 best universities in the world

39 universities gained a rating of more than 80 out of 100, spanning four continents, and almost a dozen different countries. The USA dominates the top of the list, while the UK and China are also prominent.

39. University of Melbourne, Australia — 80.1 (overall score out of 100)

39. University of Melbourne, Australia — 80.1 (overall score out of 100)University of Melbourne

38. London School of Economics, UK — 80.2

38. London School of Economics, UK — 80.2
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37. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology — 80.5

37. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology — 80.5

36. Seoul National University, South Korea — 80.6

36. Seoul National University, South Korea — 80.6
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35. Kyoto University, Japan — 81.2

35. Kyoto University, Japan — 81.2

34. Northwestern University, USA — 81.5

34. Northwestern University, USA — 81.5
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33. McGill University, Canada — 81.7

33. McGill University, Canada — 81.7

32. University of California, Los Angeles, USA — 81.9

32. University of California, Los Angeles, USA — 81.9
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31. King's College London, UK — 82.5

31. King's College London, UK — 82.5

30. Peking University, China — 82.6

30. Peking University, China — 82.6Via Flickr
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29. University of Manchester, UK — 82.9

29. University of Manchester, UK — 82.9atiger/Shutterstock

28. University of Toronto, Canada — 83.0

28. University of Toronto, Canada — 83.0
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27. University of California, Berkeley, USA — 83.2

27. University of California, Berkeley, USA — 83.2Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

26. Duke University, USA — 83.9

26. Duke University, USA — 83.9Duke University/Facebook
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25. University of Hong Kong — 84.3

25. University of Hong Kong — 84.3
G
 Reuters/Damir Sagolj

24. Australian National University, Australia — 84.4

24. Australian National University, Australia — 84.4Wikimedia Commons
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23. University of Tokyo, Japan — 85.3

23. University of Tokyo, Japan — 85.3Educast

22. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland — 85.8

22. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland — 85.8Oliver Bruchez/Flickr
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21. Johns Hopkins University, USA — 85.9

21. Johns Hopkins University, USA — 85.9Johns Hopkins University/Facebook

20. University of Michigan, USA —86.4

20. University of Michigan, USA —86.4Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
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19. University of Pennsylvania, USA — 86.5

19. University of Pennsylvania, USA — 86.5University of Pennsylvania/Facebook

18. University of Edinburgh, UK — 86.9

18. University of Edinburgh, UK — 86.9Shutterstock/f11photo
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17. Tsinghua University, China — 87.2

17. Tsinghua University, China — 87.2Wikipedia/CC 2.0

16. Columbia University, USA — 88.5

16. Columbia University, USA — 88.5Flickr/Mike Steele
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15. Yale University, USA — 89.6

15. Yale University, USA — 89.6Thomas R. Schiff

14. Cornell University, USA — 90.5

14. Cornell University, USA — 90.5Cornell University/Facebook
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13. Princeton University, USA — 90.9

13. Princeton University, USA — 90.9Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

12. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore — 91.3

12. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore — 91.3
A view of the Nanyang Technological University campus in Singapore July 29, 2016.
 Reuters/Edgar Su
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11. National University of Singapore, Singapore — 92.0

11. National University of Singapore, Singapore — 92.0Wikipedia

10. University College London, UK — 92.9

10. University College London, UK — 92.9
UCL's Portico Building
 Wikipedia / CC 3.0
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9. University of Chicago, USA — 93.2

9. University of Chicago, USA — 93.2Facebook/University of Chicago

8. Imperial College London, UK — 93.3

8. Imperial College London, UK — 93.3REUTERS/Paul Hackett
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7. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland — 95.3

7. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland — 95.3Flickr/SteFou!

6. University of Cambridge, UK — 95.6

6. University of Cambridge, UK — 95.6Shani Wijetilaka
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5. University of Oxford, UK — 96.8

5. University of Oxford, UK — 96.8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Quad,_Christ_Church_2004-01-21.jpg

4. California Institute of Technology, USA — 97.2

4. California Institute of Technology, USA — 97.2Via Flickr
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3. Harvard University, USA — 98.5

3. Harvard University, USA — 98.5Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

2. Stanford University, USA — 98.6

2. Stanford University, USA — 98.6Elaine Thompson/AP
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1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA — 100