A study of the world's largest universities has been published

Moscow State University dropped from 112 to 116 place in the global ranking of universities QS World University Rankings. Following Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, Tomsk and Kazan universities lost their positions. MGIMO, Bauman MSTU, Novosibirsk University and a number of other educational institutions scored additional points in 2012, but still remain far beyond the top hundred universities in the world.

The research company QS has published a ranking of the world's largest universities in 2012. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology took first place, the University of Cambridge took second place, and Harvard University took third place. Russian universities are still outside the top 100. Lomonosov Moscow State University took 116th place, losing 4 positions compared to the 2011 ranking, St. Petersburg State University took 253rd place, losing 2 positions. Tomsk State University took 580th place (474 in 2011), Kazan Federal University - 663rd place (603 in 2011), Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University - 719th place (696 in 2011).

The international research company QS studies the work of universities around the world, helping students decide on a place to study. The company's 150 representative offices are located in major cities around the world, including London, Paris, Singapore, Boston and Washington. In addition to the global ranking, QS creates a list of the largest universities in Asia and Latin America, as well as a list of cities where it is best for students to live.

According to QS, six assessment criteria were used in compiling the ranking: reputation in the academic environment, citations of university staff publications, the ratio of teachers to students, attitude towards graduates among employers, and the relative number of foreign teachers and students. For this purpose, more than 46 thousand academic experts and 25 thousand employers were surveyed.

Meanwhile, a number of Russian educational institutions still improved their position in the ranking. In particular, Bauman Moscow State Technical University rose by 27 positions, taking 352nd place. Novosibirsk State University moved up by 29 points and took 371st place. MGIMO was in 367th place instead of 389 in 2011. Tomsk Polytechnic University is in 567th place (607 in 2011), RUDN University is in 537th place instead of 600, and the Higher School of Economics is in 542nd place (564 in 2011). In addition, for the first time, the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (768th place) and the Far Eastern Federal University (692nd place) were included in the QS ranking.

“Russian universities have only recently begun to actively engage in the process of internationalization, which has long become a stable global trend. In this sense, we can say that we are only at the very beginning of the journey,” MGIMO Vice-Rector for Program Development Alexandra Khudaykulova commented on the study. “The emergence of Russian universities in the first lines of the world rankings in the near future is an ambitious task; it is much more realistic to enter the top hundred, although this will require great effort and government support.”

Ivan Buranov

Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University lose their ratings