<p>I'm from Denmark. I would list the Danish ones as:</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School.</li>
<li>Aarhus University</li>
<li>The rest</li>
</ol>
<p>In Norway I believe Oslo is quite good.</p>
<p>In Italy IUE (Florence) is a great social science instiution. They are world leading in European Studies.</p>
<p>Perhaps Essex should be added to the UK list because of their strong social science profile.</p>
<p>Btw, thanks for the details on Sorbonne BasBasics. Just one more thing: I talked to a fellow student of mine who went to Sciences Po summer school, but did in in Strasbourg (I think). Do you know if Sciences Po is also splitted up?</p>
<p>And lastly: Did Sarkozy study at a grandes ecole?</p>
<p>Sarkozy studied at Science Po. Hehe, btw, I just learned that Villepin has also studied at ENA, didn't know this before. That makes a 100% Grandes Ecoles in the current cabinet than. No Science-Po is not split up, they simply have another division in Strasbourg. ENA is also located in Strasbourg, the latter as something to do with the concentration of power: they were forced to move out of Paris, because of the of the domination of ENA in France's elitist circles. The people who graduate from ENA are called les Enarques, and are almost exclusively CEO's and Statesmen. </p>
<p>Another anecdote: the Grandes Ecoles were originally erected by Napoleon, to grow the 'human resource' backbone of his new empire. It serves this purpose till this very day:)</p>
<p>PS thanks for the update on Danmark and Norway!! But ehh, the institution in Florence, isn't that an EU institution? It's the best, I admit, but it's as Italian as the International Court of Justice is Dutch :)</p>
<p>I think the comparison is extremely difficult, as least from the perspective of students. Of my friends at Oxford (from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, ...), they have diverse opinions as to whether they like it better than the Ivy League or University they are from. Some love Oxford because of the intimate college environment, the traditions and the tutorial system. Others dont like Oxford because they find the traditions stiffling and the administrative system foreign. Academically, some find it more challenging and some less so. Some thrive and some dont. Most would agree that the education they receive is definitely not inferior to their previous experiences at the different ivies.</p>
<p>I forgot to metion the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). They are really good in some fields. They are at level with CBS and University of Copenhagen, I think. But of course the three do different disciplines so in many ways they are not competing. CBS is just business. U of C is almost everything (including technical studies, like at the Niels Bohr Institute), but not that much business. DTU is just technical (and some business).</p>
<p>I don't know if IUE is solely an EU institution. They are hiding it well on their website.</p>
<p>"The European University Institute
was created by the Member States
of the founding European Communities
and started its activities
in 1976. Now, a quarter of a century
later, it is one of the largest
doctoral programmes in the social
sciences in the world. Its alumni
are in academic posts all over
Europe and occupy leading professional
positions internationally."</p>
<p>The most famous European colleges tend to be English speaking ones, such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Trinity. Sorbonne also tends to be well known.</p>
<p>I think the general impression among top collegebound Americans is that the US has superior higher education. Among the general public, I dont think they would have an opinion about it or know enough to form an opinion about which is definately better.</p>