1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

It should come as no surprise that the highest ranked institution in our overall rankings for the past four years in a row is also ranked at the head of the world’s top engineering schools. MIT has helped to advance the digital age, having developed the predecessors to modern computing and networking technologies. It has recently been conducting important research in climate change and electromagnetics.

2. Stanford University 

Stanford University is well known for its entrepreneurial spirit, and has also garnered a strong reputation among the world’s top engineering schools, thanks to innovative research in the fields of engineering and technology. In the 1940s and 50s, Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman encouraged graduates and faculty members to set up their own companies, which led to him becoming known as the “Father of Silicon Valley”.

3. University of Cambridge 

The University of Cambridge is ranked joint 3rd in the world this year along with Stanford. It has a research partnership with MIT known as the Cambridge–MIT Institute, which has led to notable studies such as the “silent aircraft initiative”. Meanwhile the internationally recognized “Cambridge Phenomenon” refers to the outburst of technology, life sciences and service companies in and around Cambridge since 1960.

4. National University of Singapore (NUS) 

NUS


Climbing 10 places to rank 12th in the overall world rankings this year, the National University of Singapore (NUS) has firmly established itself as a world-leading university, with its largest faculty being engineering. NUS has more than 3,000 research staff and 21 university-level research institutes and centers in various fields. Its entrepreneurship division, NanoSpark, works with faculty members and investors to increase entrepreneurship at NUS and in Singapore more widely.

5. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) 

Switzerland’s leading university, ETH Zurich is now ranked within the top 10 universities in the world overall, climbing three places this year to reach 9th. The university was founded in 1854 by the Swiss Federal Government, with its goals being to educate engineers and scientists, serve as a national center of excellence in science and technology, and provide a hub for interaction between the scientific community and industry.