Utrecht tops the list of Dutch universities in Shanghai Ranking

The Shanghai Ranking’s 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities is out, and this year only three Dutch universities made the top 100. Utrecht, once again, came out on top in the Netherlands, ranked 50 in the world, up three spots from last year. Also on the list are the University of Groningen at 64 (up four spots from last year) and Leiden University at 83, a drop of 3. Erasmus University in Rotterdam dropped out of the top 100 this year. Globally, it’s the American universities Harvard and Stanford coming in one and two, with England’s University of Cambridge claiming the top spot in Europe and third overall.

The Shanghai Rankings are based entirely on scientific criteria, such as the number of researchers and alumni from each university that won a Nobel Prize or Field Medals. They also include the number of publications in the renowned science journals Science and Nature and the number of well-cited scientists. Educational criteria such as educational facilities and scores are ignored.