Find the most influential colleges and universities in the world in nearly 25 academic disciplines
Find brilliant thinkers for your research papers and bibliographies. Using our proprietary AI program, we have ranked everyone in Wikipedia, Wikidata, Schematic Scholar, and CrossRef based on the number of citations, publications, and academically relevant web presence. This is how we find the most influential people in the world.
We then gather all the faculty and alumni associated with a college or university and attribute the people’s influence to their schools. Hence, the most influential schools are those that employ and graduate the most influential faculty and alumni.
Students and parents now have the easiest and fastest way to find colleges and universities with histories of impacting the world through their scholarship. If you ever wanted to find schools that have the most influence in engineering or in literature, you now can!
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If you are searching for your ideal college , our Build Your Own College Rankings tool has more options to help you find the right school for your degree. Methodology: How and Why We Rank by Influence …
List of the most influential schools in Communications,
The University of Science and Technology of China is a public university in Hefei, Anhui, China. It is affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Education of China, and the Anhui Provincial Government. The university is part of the Double First Class University Plan, Project 985, and Project 211.
The Karolinska Institute is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The assembly consists of fifty professors from various medical disciplines at the university. The current vice-chancellor of Karolinska Institute is Annika Östman Wernerson, who took office in March 2023.
The University of Maine is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian czar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku. In 1828, after the Great Fire of Turku, the institution was moved to Helsinki, in line with the relocation of the Grand Duchy's capital. It was finally renamed the University of Helsinki when Finland became a sovereign nation-state in 1917.
The Chinese Culture University is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. CCU was established in 1962 and is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,000 students. Satellite campuses are located in the Jianguo, Ximending, and Zhongxiao East Road areas of Taipei City. CCU has a vast collaboration and network with top universities around the world.
The Catholic University of the West , also known as UCO or colloquially as la Catho, is a university located in Angers, France. History Early in the 11th century, the precursor to the university became famous under the direction of Marbodus, later Bishop of Rennes, and of Ulger, later Bishop of Angers, both pupils of the renowned canonist, Fulbert de Chartres. I
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront, and Warrnambool, as well as the online Cloud Campus. Deakin also has learning centres in Dandenong and Werribee, all in the state of Victoria.
California State University, Long Beach is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the California State University system . The university is one of the largest in the state of California by enrollment with a student body numbering 38,273 for the fall 2022 semester. With 5,562 graduate students as of fall 2022, the university enrolls one of the largest graduate student populations across the CSU system and in the state of California. CSULB is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High Research Activity," reflecting the unive...
Illinois State University is a public research university in Normal, Illinois. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of the top ten largest producers of teachers in the US according to the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
The Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Rennes also known as Sciences Po Rennes, is a French university established in 1991 in Rennes, the regional capital of Brittany. The institution is one of 10 political science institutes in France and is considered one of the grandes écoles.
Dawson College is an English-language public college in Westmount and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately of green space. It is the largest CEGEP in the province of Quebec, with a student population of approximately 8,000 day students and 3,000 evening students enrolled in more than 30 fields of study.
The Université de Sherbrooke is a French-language public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the South Shore of Montreal. It is one of two universities in the Estrie region of Quebec , and the only French-language university for the region.
Technological University Dublin or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university, established on 1 January 2019, and with a history stretching back to 1887 through the amalgamated Dublin Institute of Technology which progressed from the first technical education institution in Ireland, the City of Dublin Technical Schools. It is the second-largest third-level institution in Ireland, with a student population of 28,500.
Dickinson College is a private liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, making it the first college to be founded after the formation of the United States. Dickinson was founded by Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The college is named in honor of John Dickinson, a Founding Father who voted to ratify the Constitution and later served as governor of Pennsylvania, and his wife Mary Norris Dickinson. They donated much of their extensive personal libraries ...
Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself as Buddhist-inspired, ecumenical, and nonsectarian rather than Buddhist. Naropa promotes non-traditional activities like meditation to supplement traditional learning approaches.
The International Islamic University Malaysia , also known as IIUM, is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gambang, Pahang, two city campuses in Kuala Lumpur, and a language and tourism campus in Pagoh, Johor.
The University of Wollongong is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2023, the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 students , an alumni base of more than 176,000 [LC1] and over 2,400 staff members including 16 Distinguished professors.
Aoyama Gakuin University is a private Christian university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as tertiary component of the Aoyama Gakuin.
Lviv Polytechnic National University is the largest scientific university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since its foundation in 1816, it has been one of the most important centres of science and technological development in Central Europe. In the interbellum period, the Polytechnic was one of the most important technical colleges in Poland, together with the Warsaw Polytechnic. In 2020, Lviv Polytechnic was ranked globally among the top 1000 universities according to Times Higher Education. As of 2019, there were approximately 35,000 students in the university.
The Royal Northern College of Music is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education, RNCM is one of the UK's busiest and most diverse public performance venues.
The University of Montana is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fall of 2018. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" as of 2022.
The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students .
Beijing Film Academy is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. History Established in May 1950, the Beijing Film Academy was first named Performance Art Institution of the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture. During its first year, 38 students enrolled. For the next five years, the school was renamed thrice - Film School of the Film Bureau of the Ministry of Culture in July 1951, Beijing Film School in March 1953 and finally, Beijing Film Academy on June 1, 1956.
The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Institute of Art and Design was merged into the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, which already had degree-awarding status; both constituent schools had been formed by merging the local art schools, in Kent and Surrey respectively. It was granted university status in 2008, and the name changed to the present one.
Hanoi University of Science and Technology until 2010, founded 1956, is the first and largest technical university in Vietnam. History After the Viet Cong took control of Hanoi in 1956, the Soviet Union helped North Vietnam to build a new technical university as a frame for university education. The construction took about two years from the grounds of an old campus of Indochina University during the French colonial period. The building was the largest one in Hanoi.
Shanghai University is a municipal public university located in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, and co-funded with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First Class University Plan.
Harlow College is a further education college in Harlow, Essex, England. This medium-sized college has 5,900 students as of 2018 of which 2,585 are on 16-19 programmes and 2,000 are on adult educational programmes. Its main campus is in the town, while recently an additional site has been built and opened at Stansted Airport, the first of its kind at a major UK airport. Harlow College's Principal and Chief Executive is Karen Spencer.
The University of Windsor is a public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 12,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students. The university was incorporated by the provincial government in 1962 and has more than 135,000 alumni.
The University of Balamand is a private institution, secular in its policies and approach to education. It welcomes faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins. The university is located in the northern district of El-Koura, Lebanon. It was founded by the Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch in 1988. The university's main campus is adjacent to Balamand Monastery, but it has two other campuses in Beirut: One is in Sin el Fil, which houses the majority of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, and the other neighbors Saint George Hospital in Achrafieh, which houses the faculty for medicine and medical sciences.
The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spanish colony, it was the only university in Guatemala until 1954, although it continues to hold distinction as the only public university in the entire country.
Dublin City University is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin in 1975, it enrolled its first students in 1980, and was elevated to university status in September 1989 by statute.
Southern Illinois University is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Chartered in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. SIU enrolls students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Originally founded as a normal college, the university today provides programs in a variety of disciplines, combining a strong liberal arts tradition with a focus on research. SIU was granted limited university status in 1943 and began offering graduate degrees in 1950. A separate campus was established in Edwardsville, Illinois in 1957, eve...
The University of Western Brittany is a French university, located in Brest, in the Academy of Rennes. On a national scale, in terms of graduate employability, the university oscillates between 18th and 53rd out of 69 universities depending on fields of study. Overall, the university is ranked 12th out of 76 universities in France.
The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in Ghana. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast. It was originally an affiliate college of the University of London, which supervised its academic programs and awarded degrees. After Ghana gained independence in 1957, the college was renamed the University College of Ghana. It changed it name again to the University of Ghana in 1961, when it gained full university status.
Lehigh University is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was initially affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been coeducational since the 1971–72 academic year. , the university had 5,047 undergraduate students and 1,802 graduate students.
The University of Guelph is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College , the MacDonald Institute , and the Ontario Veterinary College , and has since grown to an institution of almost 30,000 students and employs 830 full-time faculty as of fall 2019. It offers 94 undergraduate degrees, 48 graduate programs, and 6 associate degrees in many different disciplines.
Kyushu University, abbreviated to Kyudai, is a Japanese national university located in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. It was the 4th Imperial University in Japan, ranked as 6th in the 2020 Times Higher Education Japan University Rankings, one of the top 10 Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of Top Global University Project by the Japanese government. Kyudai is considered one of Japan's most prestigious research-oriented universities and is a member of the Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities along with the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Peki...
Sogang University is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by Fr. Theodore Geppert, SJ with the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus. Sogang is the oldest Jesuit institution of higher education and one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea, and it has been ranked as one of the top 3 Catholic universities in Asia.
The Maryland Institute College of Art is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of the oldest art colleges in the United States.
The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classified as a as a "Special Focus - Research Institution." Rockefeller is the oldest biomedical research institute in the United States.
The Guangdong University of Foreign Studies is a leading public university with emphasis in foreign languages and cultures, overseas economy and trade, and international strategies in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It has been selected as one of the national 2011 Program. GDUFS is the Chinese partner institution of the United Nations University Outreach Programme for the training of high-end translators, the founding member of the Conférence Internationale Permanente d'Instituts Universitaires de Traducteurs et Interprètes and the International Federation of Translators . It is also an import...
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís which traces its founding to 1777. The campus mirrors the Mission's architectural style and is one of the finest groupings of Mission Revival architecture and other Spanish Colonial Revival styles. The university is classified as a "Doctoral/Professional" university.
The University of Lincoln is a public research university in Lincoln, England, with origins dating back to 1861. It gained university status in 1992 and its present name in 2001. The main campus is in the heart of the city of Lincoln alongside the Brayford Pool. There are satellite campuses across Lincolnshire in Riseholme and Holbeach and graduation ceremonies take place in Lincoln Cathedral.
Kyung Hee University is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. Kyung Hee University is part of the Kyung Hee University System, which offers comprehensive education from kindergarten through graduate school.
Ball State University is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers and Indianapolis. In 1917, the Ball brothers, industrialists and founders of the Ball Corporation, acquired the foreclosed Indiana Normal Institute and gave the school and surrounding land to the State of Indiana. The Indiana General Assembly accepted the donation in the spring of 1918, with an initial 235 students enrolling at the Indiana State Normal School – Eastern Division on June 17, 1918.
The University of Jyväskylä is a research university in Jyväskylä, Finland. It has its origins in the first Finnish-speaking Teacher Training College , founded in 1863. Around 14,000 students are currently enrolled in the degree programs of the university.
The University of New Hampshire is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover and moved to Durham in 1893, and adopted its current name in 1923.
The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission for offering higher studies degree courses on-campus as well as online. It was inaugurated on 27 July 1916. Its first chancellor was the maharaja himself; the first Vice-Chancellor was H. V. Nanjundaiah. This was the first university outside of British administered Indian provinces, the sixth in the Indian subcontinent as a whole, and the first in Karnataka.
The University of North Dakota is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota.