Australian National University ( Australia )

The Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia, the federal capital city. The University is consistently ranked as the best university in Australia by many worldwide university ranking systems, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the annual Times Higher Education Supplement rankings. Its notable staff and alumni include five Nobel laureates.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem ( Israel )

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is Israel's oldest university. It is home to the world's largest Jewish studies library. Scholars who have been faculty members include Gershom Scholem, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Don Patinkin, Daniel Kahneman and Robert Aumann. Four of Israel's prime ministers are alumni of the Hebrew University. In the last seven years, six graduates of the University received the Nobel Prize. The Hebrew University is consistently ranked in Academic Ranking of World Universities as the top university in Israel and in the top 100 in the world.

Kyoto University ( Japan )

Kyoto University is a major national university in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest university in Japan, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan. The university has a total of about 22,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

Nagoya University ( Japan )

Nagoya University is a Japanese national university headquartered in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.

Osaka University ( Japan )

Osaka University, is a major national university in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan, as the Prefectural Osaka Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan. Osaka University is recognized as a leading university, especially in basic sciences and medical field. The university was ranked the 44th among the world's best universities and the 3rd best Japanese university in 2008, according to the QS World University Rankings and was placed 46th worlwide in 2009 by Global University Ranking.

Tohoku University ( Japan )

Tohoku University, located in the city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku Region, Japan, is a Japanese public university. It is the third oldest Imperial University in Japan. Universities Ranking list In 2008, Tohoku University is internationally ranked 19th in the field of Engineering and Technology, and 35th in Natural science by ARWU. It is also ranked number 49 worldwide according to Global University Ranking in 2009. Another ranking system, HEEACT, put Tohoku 11th in engineering, 17th in natural science. As Tohoku University has been emphasizing on 'practical' research, Tohoku got the top place at the number of patents accepted during 2007 among Japanese Universities.

University of Melbourne ( Australia )

The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne Uni, Unimelb or just Melbourne) is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia, and the oldest in Victoria. The main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb just north of the Melbourne CBD, however it has several other campuses located across Victoria. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" lobby group, the Universitas 21 and Association of Pacific Rim Universities networks, and is colloquially known as a sandstone university. Melbourne is ranked among the top universities in Australia and the world. Among Australian universities, it claims a leading position in business, education, engineering, law and medicine.

University of Sydney ( Australia )

The University of Sydney (informally Sydney University, USyd or simply Sydney) is the oldest university in Australia. It was established in Sydney in 1850. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance. In 2009, the university had 47,775 students making it the second largest (behind Monash University) in Australia.

University of Tokyo ( Japan )

The University of Tokyo, is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, it ranks as the highest in Asia and third in the world in 2009 according to Global University Ranking.

ETH Zurich ( Switzerland )

ETH Zurich (German: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) or Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich is a science and technology university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland. Locals sometimes refer to it by the name Poly, derived from the original name Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum or Federal Polytechnic Institute. ETH is ranked among the top universities in the world. It is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). It is a member of Top Industrial Managers for Europe network.

Imperial College London ( United Kingdom )

Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine as titled in its Royal Charter) is a British university in London specialising in science, engineering, medicine and business. Imperial was placed 5th overall in the world in the 2009 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings of universities worldwide, and 26th in the world by the Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities.

Karolinska Institutet ( Sweden )

Karolinska Institutet (often translated from Swedish into English as the Karolinska Institute, and in older texts often as the Royal Caroline Institute) is one of Europe's largest medical universities. The institute is a member of the League of European Research Universities. According to the 2009 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the institute is the highest ranked university in clinical medicine and pharmacy in Europe, 8th in the world and Swedens highest ranked university in all categories.

Paris-Sud 11 University ( France )

Paris-Sud 11 University (French: Université Paris-Sud 11) is a French university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburb of Paris (including Orsay, Cachan, Châtenay-Malabry, Sceaux and Kremlin-Bicêtre campuses). The main campus is located in Orsay. It is one of the largest and most renowned French universities, particularly in the sciences. Paris-Sud is ranked 49th in the 2008 edition of the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and is the second best French University according to this methodology. Furthermore, the University was ranked 36-39 wolrdwide in 2009 according to Global University Ranking. It was officially recognized as an independent academic institution in 1965, after some of the expanding inner-Paris particle and nuclear physics laboratories were transferred to Orsay, under the impulse of Irène Joliot-Curie. It hosts a great number of laboratories on its large (236 ha) campus. About 26,000 students are currently enrolled. Paris-Sud University comprises some 104 research units.

Pierre and Marie Curie University ( France )

Pierre and Marie Curie University (Université Pierre et Marie Curie or UPMC - Paris Universitas or Paris 6) is a French university, principal heir to the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Paris. UPMC is now the largest scientific and medical complex in France, active in all fields of research with scope and achievements at the highest level, as demonstrated by the many awards regularly won by UPMC researchers, and the many international partnerships it maintains across all five continents. The University is ranked 39th in the World and 1st in France by the prestigious Academic Ranking of World Universities.

University College London ( United Kingdom )

University College London (UCL) is a constituent college of the University of London, based primarily in Bloomsbury, London. UCL has been consistently ranked among the top five university institutions in the UK, and was ranked 4th in the world in the 2009 THE–QS World University Rankings.

University of Cambridge ( United Kingdom )

The University of Cambridge (informally Cambridge University, or simply Cambridge), located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe. The name is sometimes abbreviated as Cantab. in post-nominals, a shortened form of Cantabrigiensis (an adjective derived from Cantabrigia, the Latinised form of Cambridge). Academically, Cambridge is consistently ranked in the world's top five universities and as a premier leading university in Europe by numerous media and academic rankings. The University's alumni include 85 Nobel Laureates as of 2009.

University of Copenhagen ( Denmark )

The University of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Universitet) is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female (59%), and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the oldest located in central Copenhagen. Most courses are taught in Danish; however, many courses are also offered in English and a few in German. The university has 2800 foreign students of which about half are from Nordic countries.

University of Manchester ( United Kingdom )

The University of Manchester is a "red brick" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. The university was named Sunday Times University of the Year in 2006 after winning the inaugural Times Higher Education Supplement University of the Year prize in 2005. According to The Sunday Times, "Manchester has a formidable reputation spanning most disciplines, but most notably in the life sciences, engineering, humanities, economics, sociology and the social sciences". The university has a very high quality research profile. In the first national assessment of higher education research since the university’s founding, the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, the University of Manchester came 3rd in terms of research power after Cambridge and Oxford and 6th for grade point average quality (8th when including specialist institutions). The university was also ranked 7th in the UK, 8th in Europe and 26th worldwide by the Times Higher World University Rankings 2009.

University of Oxford ( United Kingdom )

The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University, or simply Oxford), located in the English city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back as the 11th century. The University grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

California Institute of Technology ( United States )

The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. The Institute maintains a strong emphasis on the natural sciences and engineering, and operates and manages NASA's neighboring Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Caltech is a small school, with only about 2100 students (about 900 undergraduates and 1200 graduate students), but it is ranked number 2 in the world according to Global University Ranking and in the top ten universities worldwide by metrics such as Science Watch, Nobel Prizes, and general university rankings.

Columbia University ( United States )

Columbia University in the City of New York (commonly known as Columbia University, or simply Columbia) is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. It was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain, and is one of only two United States universities to have been founded under such authority. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, and is the sixth oldest in the United States—making it one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges.

Cornell University ( United States )

Cornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League. The university ranked 15th in the 2010 U.S. News & World Report National Universities ranking (between Johns Hopkins University and Brown University), tied for 5th with Stanford University, Columbia University, and Brown University in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report High School Counselor rankings, and 12th globally in an academic ranking of world universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2006. Britain's THES - QS World University Rankings ranked Cornell 14th in the world in 2005 and 15th in 2006.

Harvard University ( United States )

Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units. It is also the first and oldest corporation in the United States.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( United States )

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research. MIT is one of two private land-grant universities[b] and is also a sea-grant and space-grant university.

Princeton University ( United States )

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges.

Stanford University ( United States )

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States. The university was founded in 1891 by United States Senator and former California governor Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, as a memorial to their son Leland Stanford Jr., who died of typhoid in Italy a few weeks before his 16th birthday. The Stanfords used their farm lands in Palo Alto to establish the university with the hope of creating a large institution of higher education in California.

University of California, Berkeley ( United States )

The University of California, Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, California, Berkeley, and UC Berkeley), is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. The university occupies 6,651 acres (2,692 ha) with the central campus resting on approximately 200 acres (80.9 ha).

University of Chicago ( United States )

The University of Chicago (commonly referred to as UChicago, the U of C, or just Chicago) is a private, coeducational research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The University consists of the College of the University of Chicago, various graduate schools and interdisciplinary committees organized into four divisions, six professional schools, and a school of continuing education. The University enrolls approximately 5,000 students in the College and about 14,000 students overall. It has a reputation of devotion to academic scholarship and intellectualism, and is affiliated with 85 Nobel Prize laureates.

Yale University ( United States )

Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five U.S. presidents, nineteen U.S. Supreme Court Justices, and several foreign heads of state.