THE World University Rankings by subject - Computer Science & Engineering

Times Higher Education (THE) has today announced the results of its World University Rankings by subject 2022 for Computer Science and Engineering, revealing the best institutions in the world to study them.
October 6, 2021

WORLD’S BEST UNIVERSITIES TO STUDY COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING REVEALED BY TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION

  • THE World University Rankings 2022 by subject released for Computer Science and Engineering
  • 891 universities from 75 countries and regions ranked for Computer Science

 

  • 1,188 universities from 85 countries and regions ranked for Engineering

 

  • UK’s University of Oxford (1st) retains top spot for Computer Science, as the US’ Harvard University (1st) holds top spot for Engineering

 

  • Switzerland’s ETH Zurich is joint fourth spot for Computer Science with the UK’s University of Cambridge, which climbs two places
  • Mainland China sees two universities in the top 20 for Computer Science for the first time
  • Three debutants rank in the top 100 for Computer Science, two of France’s recent mergers, Institut Polytechnique de Paris (48th), and Université Paris-Saclay (76th), and Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (=88th)
  • Singapore’s National University of Singapore (10th) moves back into the top 10 for Engineering
  • All of Australia’s (eight) institutions in the Engineering top 100 improve their previous ranking positions
  • View the full THE World University Rankings 2022 by subject results and methodologies for Computer Science and Engineering (live from 1100 (UTC) Wednesday 6 October 2021):
    • LINKS TO FULL RESULTS AND METHODOLOGIES BY SUBJECT AREA


Wednesday 6 October 2021

Times Higher Education (THE) has today announced the results of its World University Rankings by subject 2022 for Computer Science and Engineering, revealing the best institutions in the world to study them.

 

Computer Science


If you want to study Computer Science, the United States might seem an obvious choice. It’s home to an impressive 35 of the world’s top 100 and 53 of the world’s top 200 universities for the subject in this year’s rankings. But while it also claims six of the top 10 places, it’s a university from the United Kingdom that claims top spot as University of Oxford takes first place for the second year in a row.

 

Table below: Top 10 in Computer Science this year (2022 edition) compared to the 2021 ranking

University Name

Country / Region

2022 Rank

2021 Rank

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

1

1

Stanford University

United States

2

2

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

United States

3

3

University of Cambridge

United Kingdom

=4

6

ETH Zurich

Switzerland

=4

4

Carnegie Mellon University

United States

6

5

Harvard University

United States

7

7

University of California, Berkeley

United States

=8

9

National University of Singapore

Singapore

=8

8

Princeton University

United States

10

11

 

The ranking, comprising a total of 891 universities from 75 countries and regions also makes a strong case for studying in Europe, as the continent claims three of the overall top 10 places as University of Oxford is joined by the UK’s University of Cambridge and Switzerland’s ETH Zurich in joint fourth. The continent claims 31 top 100 positions and a huge 82 of the top 200. It is also home to two of the three debut universities to claim top 100 positions as France’s Institut Polytechnique de Paris (48th) and newly merged Université Paris-Saclay (76th) both debut in the band.

 

But while Europe and North America dominate the top end of the table, there are plenty of other options available when it comes to studying the discipline with 30 diverse countries and regions represented in the top 200 including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, and Malaysia.

 

Australia is another great bet for a Computer Science degree, having been home to at least 10 top 200 universities in the subject since the 2018 edition of the rankings. This year Monash University (=93rd) moves into the top 100 for the first time, while the University of Melbourne tops the Australian contingent, climbing 13 places to 51st.

 

Asia also impresses as the National University of Singapore (=8th) holds onto a top 10 place for a second consecutive year, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (15th) climbs three positions. Mainland China sees two universities in the top 20 for the first time as Peking University (=17th) joins Tsinghua University (12th) in the band. Mainland China also sees all seven of its top 100 universities maintain or improve their position from last year. A record 12 mainland Chinese universities appear in the top 200, as Sun Yat-sen University (151-175) and Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) (176-200) both climb from the 251-300 band.

 

Elsewhere in Asia, India’s Indian Institute of Science (=81st) cements its place in the world’s top 100 after climbing 15 places since last year, and Taiwan’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University makes an impressive debut in joint 88th.

 

Engineering

The United States is the outright global leader for Engineering. Harvard University holds onto top place while the country takes six of the top 10 positions in the ranking, including all top four positions. It also claims an impressive 35 of the world’s top 100 universities. However, there is significant competition from the rest of the world. In the top 10 alone there are representatives from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Singapore – whose National University of Singapore (10th) is the only new entrant into this year’s elite group.

Table below: Top 10 in Engineering compared to the 2021 ranking

University Name

Country / Region

2022 Rank

2021 Rank

Harvard University

United States

1

1

Stanford University

United States

2

3

University of California, Berkeley

United States

3

5

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

United States

4

4

University of Cambridge

United Kingdom

5

6

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

6

2

Princeton University

United States

7

8

California Institute of Technology

United States

8

7

ETH Zurich

Switzerland

9

=9

National University of Singapore

Singapore

10

=12

 

In Asia, Mainland China claims a record 11 top 100 spots while all of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan’s top 100 universities from last year appear in the band again. South Korea also claims four places at the top of the table, giving Asia an impressive 28 of the world’s top 100 institutions for Engineering.

Canada proves that North America’s excellence in Engineering isn’t just the preserve of universities in the United States as The University of Alberta (98th) moves into the top 100, joining four other Canadian universities in the band. Canada’s top ranked institution, The University of Toronto (26th) secures the country’s highest finish in the table in six years.

Australia claims the joint third highest representation in the top 100 this year (eight), as the Australian National University (=93rd) moves into the band. All of Australia’s universities in the top 100 improve their positions from last year, with UNSW Sydney (=46th) remaining the country’s highest ranked institution. The United Kingdom also increases its number of top 100 universities to eight as the University of Leeds (84th) moves up from the 101-125 band.

Europe sees a further two institutions move into this year’s top 100, as Denmark’s Aalborg University (95th) and Italy’s Politecnico di Milano (96th) climb the table. This  helps Europe claim 24 top 100 positions in total, two more than last year. Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden also claim at least one position in the top 100 for Engineering, making Europe one of the world’s hotspots for studying the subject.

 

Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer, THE, commented:

For any student wanting to study a Computer Science or Engineering degree, these rankings show that while the United States and other western nations dominate the top positions, there are many diverse countries and regions offering the highest-quality education in these subjects around the world.  In particular, Asia stands out as a rising power for both Computer Science and Engineering, with universities across the continent claiming places at the top end of the table.

“With the likelihood of hybrid and digital teaching staying with us for some time to come, it will be interesting to see how universities adapt to this new normal, how they might become increasingly attractive to local and international students and how the established elite might be challenged as a result.