Rating top UK universities vs top US universities

[alan007]

<p>@trollnyc- i have to agree with prodigalson. Harvard is famous for its famous Graduate and Professional programs. In one sense, you could say that the real charm of Harvard education starts at the Grad level. And so, Harvard’s prestige stems from its Grad and Professional schools.</p>

<p>“Most idiots would think Princeton Law is a prestigious law school, except it doesn’t exist!”- this statement is very vague; not to mention erroneous. Who are you refering to as ‘idiots’- the CC forum members? Well thats very rude. And what do you mean by ‘Princeton Law’ being a prestigious law school? Do you seriously believe that you are the only one in this entire forum who knows that Princeton Law School closed down in the 19th century? Stop giving crappy comments. It seems like you yourself have a purposeless agenda.</p>

[prodigalson]

<p>

@Dionysus58

Quote:
What TROLLnyc doesn’t seem to realize is that in the UK, there is a huge gap between Oxbridge and the rest. </p>

<p>Quote:
Harvard/Yale = Trinity, King’s, etc. >>> most colleges of Oxford and Cambridge.</p>

<p>Many colleges at Oxford and Cambridge are destroying their reputation, and the overall reputation of Oxbridge at the undergrad level, by taking exchange students (mainly for the money) from schools like the College at Brockport (as part of the State University of New York) and Arcadia College, which sends over 15 exchange students to Oxford as integrated member of Oxford’s undergraduate community. </p>

<p>These two quotes are wholly wrong and quite comical really.

</p>

<p>I don’t know about the other guy, but I love to provide entertainment for your reading pleasure…</p>

[Marlowe]

<p>After Oxbridge (which doesn’t offer every course in the first place), the tiers become debatable, as each UK university after that has its own specialty/area of prestige. Keep in mind, candidates apply for a particular subject at university, so universities themselves are far more specialized than the US liberal arts model. Imperial only teaches sciences and math, LSE only social sciences, UCL has no politics department to speak of, etc.</p>

<p>Tier 1: Harvard/Yale/Princeton = Oxbridge (for the most part- however, Oxbridge doesn’t offer all subject areas and, unlike the US, you’re only allowed to apply to one or the other. So, unlike a Harvard reject who may head to Yale instead, an Oxford reject has only the “Tier 2”'s as a backup option)
Tier 2: Columbia/Dartmouth/Brown/Berkely= LSE (for Economics especially, Social Sciences in general), Imperial (Sciences and Engineering), Warwick (Politics), St. Andrews (International Relations and Philosophy), UCL (Humanities- English/History), Durham (English)</p>

[eugeneho]

<p>@Dionysus58- I was just providing an example to start off with. </p>

<p>Reason why I placed LSE and Imperial above UCL is because in the UK it is generally perceived that LSE and Imperial are a league above UCL (in terms of admission tariff scores and graduate prospects). That can be cross-referred to in the The Student Room forum. </p>

<p>I’m not sure how CCers would view this. Possibly you could help me to shed some light on it? I understand that UCL has been gaining reputation due to it’s stellar showing on the THES World Ranking in recent though.</p>

[Dionysus58]

<p>

UCL has no politics department to speak of, etc.

</p>

<p>Yes it does. The department of Political Science in the School of Public Policy.</p>

<p>

it is generally perceived that LSE and Imperial are a league above UCL (in terms of admission tariff scores and graduate prospects).

</p>

<p>No it isn’t. Especially for things like Law, Economics and the Sciences.</p>

[Marlowe]

<p>Well, it does exist, but “Politics” as a course isn’t offered for undergrads (excluding European Studies). Moreover, the department is significantly weaker than Oxford or St. Andrews: </p>

<p>[University</a> Rankings League Table 2010 | Good University Guide - Times Online](<a href=“The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines”>The Times & The Sunday Times: breaking news & today's latest headlines)</p>

[Dionysus58]

<p>I’m not quite sure what you mean by excluding European Studies, because European Social and Political Studies can be near total politics if you wish it to be. UCL’s SSEES also offers joint honours (double major) in Politics and East European Studies. Not to mention all the politics modules you can take in other courses. So in actual fact there is rather a lot of politics at UCL.</p>

<p>Yes of course, significantly weaker… because the Times says so. What rubbish.</p>

[DunninLA]

<p>TrollNYC:</p>

<p>OP wrote:
"Hi all, </p>

<p>I was wondering how do the top UK universities (Oxbridge, Imperial, LSE and UCL) compare against top US universities in terms of reputation and prestige?"</p>

<p>To which you responded H,Y, and certainly not P,M,S</p>

<p>I look at three sources in trying to understand pecking order in US higher eduction. </p>

<p>1) USNWR undergraduate rankings
2) NRC rankings of 41 Ph.D. programs
3) Professional School rankings (Medicine, Law, Business)</p>

<p>Yale is ranked significantly below Stanford in categories 2) and 3), and marginally above Stanford in category 1).</p>

<p>Yale is ranked below Princeton in category 2), approximately equal in category 1), with category 3) being moot since P does not offer these degrees.</p>

<p>Harvard is ranked below Stanford in Category 2), and above in categories 1) and 3). Actually Harvard is ranked below Berkeley as well in category 2).</p>

<p>Why you insist on grouping Yale with Harvard, but dismiss Princeton and especially Stanford doesn’t seem to correspond to public or peer rankings.</p>

[Corbett]

<p>

Many colleges at Oxford and Cambridge are destroying their reputation, and the overall reputation of Oxbridge at the undergrad level, by taking exchange students (mainly for the money) from schools like the College at Brockport (as part of the State University of New York) and Arcadia College, which sends over 15 exchange students to Oxford as integrated member of Oxford’s undergraduate community.

If you look more closely at these programs, it does not appear to be quite that straightforward.</p>

<p>Arcadia University (not “Arcadia College”) operates a number of study-abroad programs in the UK, including placements at certain colleges in Oxford and Cambridge. However, these programs are open to students nationally, not just to students at Arcadia. I would bet that the Oxford and Cambridge slots are quite competitive. Arcadia’s [url=<a href=“http://www.arcadia.edu/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=26196]brochure[/url”>http://www.arcadia.edu/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=26196]brochure[/url</a>] for their UK programs includes a testimonial from one student who was placed in St. Anne’s College of Oxford: she was from Northwestern U (tied for #12 in current USN&WR rankings), not Arcadia U. </p>

<p>The participants in Brockport’s program, like those in UGA’s, have “associate” status with certain Oxford colleges. They are socially affiliated, but not actually matriculated there.</p>

<p>As far as I can tell, the only US schools that have agreements to place undergraduates into Oxbridge directly (i.e not through some study-abroad program) as Visiting Students (i.e. not as "associates) are: Dartmouth, MIT, Princeton, WUSTL, and Williams. These are all relatively small programs, ranging from 4 to 26 students per year. I doubt that Oxbridge is destroying its reputation by being affiliated with schools like this.</p>

[hippo2718]

<p>

@Phead128

Hopkins is top 10 in over 44+ graduate fields.

That’s a bit awkward to justify, particularly since it only has 35 graduate programs. </p>

<p>Hopkins has a claim to top 10 status in German/Romance language, biology, history, writing (MFA), public health (MPH), and BME. Perhaps English. That’s about it. It’s a reasonably well-rounded university, but it’s lacking extreme strength across the board that more solid universities like Stanford and Penn have. When one thinks Hopkins, one thinks pre-med, and vice versa. I would agree with you, however, that Hopkins is closer to UCL than LSE.</p>

<p>

@Corbett

As far as I can tell, the only US schools that have agreements to place their undergraduates directly into Oxbridge as Visiting Students are Dartmouth, MIT, Princeton, WUSTL, and Williams. These are all relatively small programs, ranging from 4 to 26 students per year.

Duke also has a program. I’m sure there are others you’re missing.</p>

<p><a href=“http://borodin.aas.duke.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=112&Type=O&sType=O[/url]”>http://borodin.aas.duke.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=112&Type=O&sType=O&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

@IvyPBear

When will people on this board learn to specify/separate undergrad w/ grad?

Is there really a point in doing so? Can any college in the US match the tutorial system at Cambridge and Oxford? How nit-picky do you really care to get?</p>

[Corbett]

<p>

Duke also has a program. I’m sure there are others you’re missing.

Pembroke College of Oxford apparently accepts up to 30 Visiting Students annually from 12 different US [url=<a href=“http://www.pmb.ox.ac.uk/Students/Visiting_Students/University_Partnerships.php]partners[/url”>http://www.pmb.ox.ac.uk/Students/Visiting_Students/University_Partnerships.php]partners[/url</a>], including Duke. The partners are mostly, though not exclusively, highly ranked US schools, including Ivies (Brown, Columbia/Barnard, Cornell, Penn), other top universities (Duke, Georgetown), and top LACs (Bryn Mawr, Haverford). </p>

<p>So you could argue that all of these schools have direct placements to Oxbridge. However, the number of slots for any given school must be pretty limited, since there are only 30 slots for all 12 institutions. </p>

<p>

Can any college in the US match the tutorial system at Cambridge and Oxford?

The only US schools that I know of that have made a serious commitment to Oxbridge-style tutorials are Williams and the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University (not to be confused with Ohio State). Williams, perhaps not coincidentally, also has one of the largest Oxford programs, sending 26 students (or about 5% of each class) to Exeter College annually. </p>

<p>

How nit-picky do you really care to get?

You can safely assume that the participants in this forum are obsessed with even the slightest and most trivial differences in college rankings.</p>

[Phead128]

<p>

@Hippo

That’s a bit awkward to justify, particularly since it only has 35 graduate programs.</p>

<p>Hopkins has a claim to top 10 status in German/Romance language, biology, history, writing (MFA), public health (MPH), and BME. Perhaps English. That’s about it. It’s a reasonably well-rounded university, but it’s lacking extreme strength across the board that more solid universities like Stanford and Penn have. When one thinks Hopkins, one thinks pre-med, and vice versa. I would agree with you, however, that Hopkins is closer to UCL than LSE.

</p>

<p>I’m just trying to say that Hopkins can stand on it’s own two feet and is not only premed. As many as 44 various graduate/undergraduate fields in humanities, social sciences, biological sciences, and engineering are ranked among the top 10 in the nation at JHU… In addition German & Romance languages, English, Creative Writing, Public Health, and Biomedical Engineering, Hopkins is also has:</p>

<p>School of Education ([#7](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/rankings]#7[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/rankings)</a>), School of Nursing ([#3](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/rankings]#3[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/rankings)</a>), Art History ([#7](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area1.html]#7[/url]”>NRC Rankings in Art History)</a>), Environmental Engineering ([#6](<a href=“http://www.testpreppractice.net/GRE/engineering-university-rankings/environmental-engineering-school-rankings.html]#6[/url]”>http://www.testpreppractice.net/GRE/engineering-university-rankings/environmental-engineering-school-rankings.html)</a>), International Relations ([#2](<a href=“http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2009/05/international-relations-rankings.html]#2[/url]”>International Relations Rankings | World Ranking Guide)</a>), Music Conservatory (#3), Classics ([#8](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#8[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), Comparative Literature ([#7](<a href=“http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v42/n4/gradrank.html]#7[/url]”>http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v42/n4/gradrank.html)</a>), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ([#9](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area12.html]#9[/url]”>NRC Rankings in Biochem/Molec Biol)</a>), Molecular & General Genetics ([#9](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area15.html]#9[/url]”>NRC Rankings in Molec/Gen/Genetics)</a>), Neuroscience and Neurobiology ([#3](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/neurosciences]#3[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/neurosciences)</a>), Biophysics and Structural Biology ([#8](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/biophysics]#8[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/biophysics)</a>), Cellular Biology ([#7](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/cell-biology]#7[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/cell-biology)</a>), Genomics and Bioinformatics ([#8](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/genetics]#8[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/genetics)</a>), Immunology and Infectious Diseases ([#5](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/infectious-disease]#5[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/infectious-disease)</a>), Microbiology ([#8](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/microbiology]#8[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-biological-sciences-programs/microbiology)</a>), Pharmacology ([#4](<a href=“http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area17.html]#4[/url]”>NRC Rankings in Pharmacology)</a>), Cognitive Science ([#4](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=74&year=2007]#4[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=74&year=2007)</a>), Epidemiology ([#2](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=112&year=2007]#2[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=112&year=2007)</a>), Pathology ([#6](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=108&year=2007]#6[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=9&secondary=108&year=2007)</a>), Electrical Engineering ([#8](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=5&secondary=50&year=2007]#8[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=5&secondary=50&year=2007)</a>), Environmental Health ([#4](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=6&secondary=161&year=2007]#4[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=6&secondary=161&year=2007)</a>), Human Development & Family Studies (
([#4](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=234&secondary=181&year=2007]#4[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=234&secondary=181&year=2007)</a>), European Studies ([#3](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#3[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), French ([#5](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#5[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), History ([#6](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#6[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), Italian ([#4](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#4[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), Spanish ([#4](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html]#4[/url]”>http://web.archive.org/web/20080120181827/http://academicanalytics.com/TopHumanities2006-07.html)</a>), Biostatistics ([#2](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=4&secondary=136&year=2007]#2[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=4&secondary=136&year=2007)</a>), Astronomy & Astrophysics ([#3[/url</a>] & [url=<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=4&secondary=38&year=2007]#8[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=4&secondary=38&year=2007]#8](<a href=“System Unavailable”>System Unavailable)</a>), Near Eastern Studies ([#6](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=10&secondary=76&year=2006]#6[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=10&secondary=76&year=2006)</a>), Sociology ([#8](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=3&secondary=32&year=2006]#8[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=3&secondary=32&year=2006)</a>), Geography ([#6](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=3&secondary=30&year=2006]#6[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=3&secondary=30&year=2006)</a>), East Asian Studies ([#5](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=10&secondary=83&year=2006]#5[/url]”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?bycat=true&primary=10&secondary=83&year=2006)</a>), School of Medicine ([#2](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings/rank+10]#2[/url]”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings/rank+10)</a>) are ranked among the top 10.</p>

<p>PLUS!!! Don’t forget ***The Johns Hopkins Hospital *<a href=“%5Burl=http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals]#1[/url]”>/B</a> & General Pediatrics ([#4](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/childrens-hospitals]#4[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/childrens-hospitals)</a>), Cancer (Oncology) ([#3](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/cancer-hospital-rankings/]#3[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/cancer-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Diabetes & Endocrinology ([#3](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/diabetes-and-endocrine-disorders-hospital-rankings/]#3[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/diabetes-and-endocrine-disorders-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Digestive Disorders ([#3](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/digestive-disorders-hospital-rankings/]#3[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/digestive-disorders-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Ear, nose, and throat (Otolaryngology)([#1](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/ear-nose-and-throat-hospital-rankings/]#1[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/ear-nose-and-throat-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Urology ([#1](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/urology-hospital-rankings/]#1[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/urology-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Rheumatology ([#1](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/rheumatology-hospital-rankings/]#1[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/rheumatology-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Gynecology ([#2](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/gynecology-hospital-rankings/]#2[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/gynecology-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Ophthalmology ([#2](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/ophthalmology-hospital-rankings/]#2[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/ophthalmology-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Psychiatry ([#2](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/psychiatry-hospital-rankings/]#2[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/psychiatry-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Geriatrics ([#2](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/geriatric-care-hospital-rankings/]#2[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/geriatric-care-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Neurology & Neurosurgery ([#2](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/neurology-and-neurosurgery-hospital-rankings/]#2[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/neurology-and-neurosurgery-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Respiratory Disorders ([#3](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/respiratory-disorders-hospital-rankings/]#3[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/respiratory-disorders-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Heart & Heart Surgery ([#3](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/]#3[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/heart-and-heart-surgery-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Orthopedics ([#5](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/orthopedics-hospital-rankings/]#5[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/orthopedics-hospital-rankings/)</a>), Kidney Disease ([#6](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/kidney-disorders-hospital-rankings/]#6[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health/best-hospitals/kidney-disorders-hospital-rankings/)</a>)</p>

<p>According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), Johns Hopkins performed $1.68 billion in science, medical and engineering research in FY2008. That makes Hopkins as the largest annual R&D budget in the world, eclipsing the 2nd place by over 100% for the past 30 years in a row .That’s makes Hopkins a world leader in winning competitive peer reviewed federally funded grants and a mega research powerhouse (JHU spends 5X more $ on research than MIT)</p>

<p>Between 1999 and 2009, Johns Hopkins was among the most cited institutions in the world. Having attracted nearly 1,222,166 citations and producing 54,022 papers under its name, it ranks [url=<a href=“http://sciencewatch.com/inter/ins/09/09Top20Overall/]#3[/url”>http://sciencewatch.com/inter/ins/09/09Top20Overall/]#3[/url</a>] globally behind Harvard University and Max Planck Society with the highest total citations to their papers published in Thomson Reuters-indexed journals over all 22 fields in the database in America. (Yes, this appears in Wikipedia, because I wrote it there.)</p>

<p>Hopkins is BETTER than HYPSM and Cornell. (jk jk.)</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>I agree with Phead. JHU is one of those stigmatized universities, like CMU, Chicago and MIT. Because of its dominant Medical school and Hospitals, people assume that JHU is only good in life science related fields, just like people assume CMU and MIT are only good at Engineering and Science. In all three cases, that is far from true. MIT is extremely strong in Business, Economics, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science and Psychology. CMU has very strong programs/departments in Architecture, Business, Economics, Music and Psychology. It so happens that JHU excels in Arabic, Economics, Engish, History, International Relations, Mathematics, Middle Eastern Studies, Music, Physics, most Romance languages and Sociology. </p>

<p>Of course, that does not mean that those three schools are ranked among the top 10 in ALL of those fields mentioned above, but if not among the top 10, certainly among the top 25.</p>

[RML]

<p>^ Add Cornell in your list. When people think of Cornell they think it’s only good for engineering and fields related to agriculture, tourism and hotel administration.</p>

[trollnyc]

<p>

@DunninLa

Why you insist on grouping Yale with Harvard, but dismiss Princeton and especially Stanford doesn’t seem to correspond to public or peer rankings.

</p>

<p>I said this because the OP wasn’t asking for peer review rankings and the like. Rather, he/she wanted to know from a general prestige and reputational standpoint, in which case I stated the obvious thing what are considered by the vast majority of people in both the US and UK to be the “most” prestigious schools. Harvard is undoubtedly the most prestigious school on the planet, by a mile, and in the US it is followed by Yale. Are you questioning this? You can consult educational rankings and the like, but at the end of the day, these are the two “top” schools in the US. Perhaps you are not American and don’t know this. Likewise, Oxford and then followed by Cambridge are the top two schools in the UK. The annual regatta between Oxford and Cambridge is virtually the same as the Game between H&Y. These are the biggest rivalries among the elite schools in both countries for a reason…</p>

[eugeneho]

<p>@DunninLa: Yup. I agree with trollnyc. That’s the kind of answer I’m looking for. Prestige and reputation. I mean I could have easily checked up the peer review rankings if I wanted to know that.</p>

<p>@trollnyc: Well. Since the top 2 universities from US and UK are so clear, what about the next couple few from each country? How do they compare?</p>

[Alexandre]

<p>The top 2 universities in the US are nore so clear eugeneho. Just because one person thinks Yale is the clear #2 does not make it so. The fact is, in the US, there is no clear cut #2 in terms of prestige. I would say from my experience, MIT is the slight #2, closely followed by Stanford, Princeton and Yale…in that order. That’s based on my personal experience, so I am sure others will have different points of views. But one thing most people with experience will submit is that there is no clear #2 among the top top 5. In the UK, there is a clear top 2, and then, a HUGE drop to #3. That is not the case in the US.</p>

[hippo2718]

<p>Ah, you were citing the FSPI rankings. They’re bogus as a good measure of department quality judging by the areas with which I am familiar, but thanks for giving a source. I agreed with you that Hopkins is fairly well-rounded.</p>

<p>As for the top two in the US, I agree with trollnyc; Harvard and Yale are generally recognized as the top two.</p>

<p>

Since the top 2 universities from US and UK are so clear, what about the next couple few from each country? How do they compare?

UK universities are at a disadvantage because even the elite ones are extremely poor compared to American universities. I saw a list once, which regrettably I cannot seem to find, that ranked universities around the world by operating budgets; Oxford and Cambridge were the only two British universities to appear in the top 200.</p>

<p>There was a kerfuffle in Wales recently when a university there eliminated its chemistry department. :eek:</p>

[datalook]

<p>1) Yale is not top 2 in sciences for sure. In fact Yale is not in top 5 for sure</p>

<p>National academy of science membership
Harvard (163)
Stanford (130)
Berkeley (130)
MIT (113)
Caltech (74)
Princeton (74)
UC San Diego (67)
Yale (58)</p>

<p>So in sciences, Yale falls fall behind Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT</p>

<p>2) Yale is not top 2 in engineering. In fact, YAle is not even top 20.</p>

<p>Natioanl academy of engineering membership
MIT (110)
Stanford (90)
Berkeley (74)
CAltech (30)
Princeton (24)
Harvard (19)
Yale (7)</p>

<p>So in engineering, Yale does not even matter.</p>

<p>3) How about business school?
Yale barely makes the top 10 list</p>

<p>4) How about social sciences and humanities?
Based on us news 2010 graduate school ranking, Stanford, Harvard, and Berkeley are clearly better than Yale</p>

<p>5) How about medical school?
In US news ranking. Yale is NOT top 5.
Yale faculty has won 0 NIH pioneer award over the years. Stanford faculty alone have won 13 or 15. Harvard Ph.D graduates alone have won probably more than 20. Lots of other schools such as MIT, JHU, Penn, UCSF, Berkeley, Caltech, and Princeton have won several.</p>

<p>Yale may look like a serious top 2 contender if you only look at law, arts, and humanities, while ignoring all of the sciences, engineering, business, medical school, and social sciences.</p>

<p>To claim Yale is better than PSM and Berkeley is ridiculous.</p>

[hippo2718]

<p>

@datalook

Yale top 2 in USA? That is suspicious to say the least

Do a door-to-door survey and ask people what the top two schools in the country are. For every person who says Stanford or MIT, at least 10 will say Yale.</p>

<p>Your data is meaningless in this context. Prestige is loosely connected to academics, but the two are hardly synonymous. People on the street won’t even know what the National Academy of Science or the National Academy of Engineering are, let alone why they should care about them. They know the basics about Yale: it’s over 300 years old, it’s obscenely wealthy, it’s super selective, it’s extremely strong academically, and it’s connected to famous people, including half a dozen presidents. </p>

<p>I’m not saying Yale is the second best university in the country, because I don’t think it is. I’m saying it’s the second most prestigious, and that way crazy lies if you’d attempt to argue the same for MIT, Berkeley, or Stanford.</p>