The 19 best universities in Europe
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Your support makes all the difference.English-speaking universities continue to dominate the world.
European universities take only 40% of the places in a ranking of almost 1,000 of the best universities globally
The Times Higher Education's World University Ranking 2016-2017 ranks universities around the world, taking into account teaching, research, and citations of every university.
A UK university tops not only the European ranking, but also the global list for the first time.
Here are the top 19 universities in Europe:
19. Wageningen University and Research Center, Netherlands
World University Ranking: 65
Wageningen University and Research Centre specialises in life and social sciences.
Its research focuses on scientific, social and commercial problems in the field of life sciences and natural resources.
18. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
World University Ranking: 63
The University of Amsterdam is a public university, and the third oldest in the Netherlands.
It is one of the largest research universities in Europe, with around 30,000 students. 5,000 staff, 1,340 PhD students, and an annual budget of £515 million ($670 million).
17. Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
World University Ranking: 59
Delft University is the largest university of technology in the Netherlands.
It is home to around 16,000 students, with a large international student presence. It is organised across eight faculties, offering 14 undergraduate courses and 30 postgraduates courses.
16. Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
World University Ranking: =57
The Humboldt University of Berlin has a world-class reputation in the field of arts and humanities.
It boasts 29 Nobel prize winners, and its alumni include the inventors of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
15. University of Manchester, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 55
The University of Manchester has almost 40,000 students - the largest student body in the UK.
The university campus is also the largest in UK higher education. It spans 270 hectares and 245 buildings, 24 of which are listed.
14. Technical University of Munich, Germany
World University Ranking: 46
The Technical University of Munich specialises in the natural sciences.
Thirteen of the university's professors or alumni have been made Nobel Laureates.
13. Heidelberg University, Germany
World University Ranking: =43
Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university.
As a state university, it teaches all subjects ranging from humanities to medicine.
It has more than 30,000 students, and 5,000 research and teaching staff.
12. KU Leuven, Belgium
World University Ranking: 40
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is Belgium's largest higher education institution, considered one of Europe's leading research universities. It is also the oldest Catholic university in the world, having been founded in 1425.
11. King’s College London, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: =36
King's College London is the largest healthcare learning centre in Europe. It has three teaching hospitals with over 27,000 students, including nearly 10,500 post gradutes.
It is a major research university, rated 6th in the world within the 2014 Research Excellence Framework 'power' ranking.
=9. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
World University Ranking: =30
École Polytechnique is the leading French institute for science and technology.
It has about 3,000 graduate students, and 670 faculty members.
=9. LMU Munich, Germany
World University Ranking: =30
LMU is one of the oldest and most highly regarded universities in Germany.
It is a leading research institution but also has a large student body, with over 50,000 undergraduates and post-graduates from more than 130 countries.
8. Karolinska Institute, Sweden
World University Ranking: 28
The Karolniska Institute is a leading medical university.
Its research spans the field of medicine, and it is the single largest conductor of academic medical research in Sweden.
7. University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 27
Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world.
The university currently has 35,000 students across its three colleges: Humanities and Social Science, Science and Engineering, and Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It is known for its research, and receives £200 million pounds in annual research funding.
It has a total of 20 Nobel laureates, and alumni including Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
6. London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: =25
LSE is one of the most well-renowned social science universities in the world. Its specialities include economics, politics, sociology, law and anthropology.
It has associations with 16 Nobel Prize winners, and 37 world leaders are among its alumni. The philosopher Bertrand Russell studied there, as did Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.
5. University College London, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 15
UCL is another science-based institution which ranks highly.
It has 850 professors and over 6,000 academic and research staff, and a student body of 36,000. It has a high number of graduates: 52% of its pupils are engaged in post-graduate study.
A total of 29 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to UCL students or staff.
4. ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
World University Ranking: 9
ETH Zurich is considered among the world's most prestigious universities for science and technology.
It is a heavily research-based institution, and its departments conduct research into subject ranging from architecture to chemistry. It has over 20 Nobel Prize Laureates, including Albert Einstein.
3. Imperial College London, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 8
Founded in 1907, Imperial College London is a science-based institution based in the centre of the capital.
It has four main focuses: science, engineering, medicine, and business. 14 of its alumni are Nobel Prize winners, including Sir Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin.
2. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 4
Founded by a group of Oxford scholars in exile, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is also one of the richest, with an endowment of nearly £6 billion.
It has 18,000 students, 4,000 of whom are international, and who study across the schools 150 faculties. Like Oxford, Cambridge has a huge alumni network of successful graduates — 92 affiliates of the university have been awarded Nobel Prizes.
1. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
World University Ranking: 1
The oldest university in the English-speaking world tops the list for the first time. It has numerous strength but cites particular prowess in the sciences.
Students number around 22,000 in total, with the university comprising 44 colleges and halls, and over 100 libraries.
Oxford alumni include 120 Olympic medallists, 26 Nobel Prize winners, seven poet laureates, and over 30 world leaders including Bill Clinton, Aung San Suu Kyi, and 26 UK Prime Ministers.
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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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