The University of Rochester is ranked 21st among U.S. universities in the global listing issued by The Times of London today. Overall, Rochester moved up to 48th in the world from 73rd last year.
The editors based the rankings on a survey of 3,703 academics worldwide, who were asked to identify up to 30 universities that excelled in research within their own field of expertise. This approach makes the rankings topical and also liable to change from year to year if institutions do not maintain research standards, the editors said.
The table also includes data from 736 graduate employers around the world, as well as the ratio of faculty-to-student numbers and a university's success in attracting foreign students and internationally renowned academics.
British and American universities dominated the list of best universities in the Times' Higher Education Supplement.
John O'Leary, editor of the Higher Education Supplement, said there is much competition among the world's leading universities.
"The presence of so many American and British universities at the top of the ranking owes something to the dominance of English as a world language in academic life as well as in business, but by every measure these are outstanding institutions," he said in The Times.
"Thirty different countries are represented in our top 200 so international competition is still intense—the leading Chinese universities have made real progress this year, for example, and will no doubt challenge the leaders in years to come."
The ranking can be found on the Web at www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3561-2389106,00.html.