The Most Influential Schools in the World
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 History,
The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The University traces its roots to four institutions founded in the 19th century, which today make up to university's constituent colleges, around which student accommodation is centred: Digby Stuart College, Froebel College, Southlands College and Whitelands College.
The University of Bedfordshire is a public research university with campuses in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. The University has roots in further and higher education from 1882: it gained university status in 1993 as the University of Luton. The University changed its name to the University of Bedfordshire in 2006, following the merger of the University of Luton with the Bedford campus of De Montfort University.
Western Carolina University is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded to educate the people of the western North Carolina mountains. WCU provides an education to students from 48 states and 35 countries. Enrollment for the Fall 2020 semester was 12,243 students.
The Reichsuniversität Straßburg was founded in 1941 by the Nazis in Alsace after the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Nazi Germany. The University of Strasbourg had moved to Clermont-Ferrand in 1939. The university's purpose was to restore the German character of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Universität, as the University of Strasbourg was named from 1872 to 1918, and to advance "German knowledge" in the annexed territory. When the Allies arrived in Alsace in 1944, the Reichsuniversität was first transferred to Tübingen and then dissolved.
The Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu is a public university in Sibiu, Romania. It is named after the philosopher, poet, and playwright, Lucian Blaga. It was founded in 1990 with five schools: Letters, History and Law, Medicine, Food and Textile Processing Technology, Engineering and Sciences.
Pacific Lutheran University is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PLU has approximately 2,700 students enrolled. As of 2023, the school employs approximately 238 full-time professors on the woodland campus.
The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York system.
The University of St. Thomas is a private Catholic research university with campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1885 as a Catholic seminary, it is named after Thomas Aquinas, the medieval Catholic theologian and philosopher who is the patron saint of students. As of fall 2021, St. Thomas enrolled 9,347 students, making it Minnesota's largest private, nonprofit university.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private, nonprofit, research-intensive medical school in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, United States. Founded in 1953, Einstein operates as an independent degree-granting institution as part of the integrated healthcare Montefiore Health System and also has affiliation with Jacobi Medical Center.
Trinity University is a private liberal arts college in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1869, its student body consists of about 2,600 undergraduate and 200 graduate students. Trinity offers 49 majors and 61 minors among six degree programs, and has an endowment of $1.725 billion.
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Trent University
Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes.
Hunan Normal University , founded in 1938, is a public university in Changsha, Hunan Province. The university is the 211 Project university, one of the country's top 100 national key universities in the 21st century that enjoy priority in obtaining national funds. It is also a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university, a major government initiative to comprehensively develop a group of elite universities into "world-first-class universities" by 2050. It is particularly reputable for its concentration on teachers' education and training, foreign language studies, Chinese liter...
Chonnam National University is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities located in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, South Korea. In March 2006, Yeosu National University merged with Chonnam National University to become a satellite campus. CNU ranked the 10th nationwide and the 420th worldwide in world university rankings in the CWUR . It was also the 1st among the nine Korean national flagship universities in "Asia’s Top 75 Most Innovative Universities" in 2017 Reuters. CNU has also expanded its global reach by establishing partnerships with 499 Universities in 62 countries as of 2...
The Saint Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University , previously known as the Saint Petersburg Nikolaevsky Engineering Academy, was established in 1810 under Alexander I. The university is situated in the former barracks of the Cavalier-Guard Regiment where the university was founded.
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Teikyo University
Teikyo University is a private university headquartered in the Itabashi ward of Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1931 as Teikyo Commercial High School . It became Teikyo University in 1966. It is part of Teikyo Group, a multinational educational foundation that also operates language and cultural exchange facilities at pre-university levels in various countries.
Rush University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center. Rush University comprises:Rush Medical CollegeRush University College of NursingRush University College of Health SciencesThe Graduate College of Rush UniversityRush encompasses a 664-bed hospital serving adults and children, the 61-bed Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University. The campus occupies an site on Chicago's Near West Side, in the Illinois Medical District, which also includes its teaching hospital, Rush University Medical...
New York Law School is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include Edward A. Purcell Jr., an authority on the history of the United States Supreme Court, and Nadine Strossen, constitutional law expert and president of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1991 to 2008.
Babson College is a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Established in 1919, Babson's central focus is on entrepreneurship education and its use in creating economic and social value. The college was founded by Roger W. Babson as an all-male business institute and became coeducational in 1970.
The National University of Defense Technology is a national public research university headquartered in Changsha, Hunan, China. With the predecessor founded in 1953 as the People's Liberation Army Military Academy of Engineering in Harbin, the institution was officially established in 1978 in Changsha by Deng Xiaoping and is now directly affiliated with the Central Military Commission.
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Coventry University
Coventry University is a public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the founding of the Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lanchester Polytechnic from 1970 until 1987, and then as Coventry Polytechnic until the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 afforded its university status that year and the name was changed to Coventry University.
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Saga University
Saga University; abbreviated as Sagadai or Sadai, is a national university in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan. The university has five faculties with around 7,000 students. Its two campuses are in Honjo and Nabeshima.
Vidyasagar University was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the Calcutta Gazette on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
The Sorbonne Nouvelle University is a public university in Paris, France. It is one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was completely overhauled and restructured in 1970. History The historic University of Paris first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was reorganised in 1970 as 13 autonomous universities after the student protests of the French May. Sorbonne Nouvelle, or "Paris III", is one of the inheritors of University of Paris faculty of humanities .
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Tsuru University
Tsuru University is a small municipal university located in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The university has around 3,000 students and 85 faculty. The campus rises into the mountains overlooking the 35,000 residents of Tsuru City.
The Royal College of Science is a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it is a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Imperial College London receive an Associateship to the Royal College of Science. Organisations linked with the college include the Royal College of Science Union and the Royal College of Science Association.
China Agricultural University is a national public university located in Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. It is part of Double First Class University Plan, Project 985, and Project 211.
The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. It has 18 academic departments divided into five schools offering 31 majors and 57 minors. The military program is made up of cadets pursuing bachelor's degrees who live on campus. The non-military programs offer 12 undergraduate degrees, 26 graduate degrees, as well as evening and online programs with seven online graduate degrees, three online undergrad...
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Mie University
Mie University is a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, Japan. As with other national universities, Mie University has been a National University Corporation since April 2004, when state-funded universities were partially privatised. In 2006, it was ranked 250th in the Times Higher Education Supplement list of the world's best universities.
Musashino Art University or Musabi is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, Teikoku Art School was founded. In December 1948, it became Musashino Art School, and in April 1962, it was renamed Musashino Art University.
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Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its name is taken from Sir Walter Murdoch , the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.
Academy of Korean Studies is a South Korean research and educational institute with the purpose of establishing profound research on Korean culture. It was established on June 22, 1978, by Ministry of Education & Science Technology of South Korea . The Academy has dedicated to interpreting and analyzing Korean culture in general, defining the academic identity of Korean studies, and educating scholars.
The National Autonomous University of Honduras is the national public university of Honduras. Founded in 1847, it has over 140 programs from the Bachelor's level to the Doctorate, and is the largest and highest ranked university in Honduras.
Marietta College is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and Athletic Training graduate programs. Its campus encompasses approximately three city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 full-time students.
The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has three campuses in Enugu State–Nsukka, Enugu, and Ituku-Ozalla – and the Aba campus in Abia State.
The Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt is a Roman Catholic research university in Eichstätt and Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Compared to other German universities it is a rather small institution with 4,800 students in 2019; nevertheless, it is the largest non-state university in Germany. The university has its main campus in Eichstätt and another in Ingolstadt, site of the first Bavarian university in 1472.
The University of Alicante was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies , which was founded in 1968. The university main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/Sant Vicent del Raspeig, bordering the city of Alicante to the north. As of 2011/12 academic year, there are approximately 27,500 students studying there.
Southwestern University is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern offers 40 bachelor's degrees in the arts, sciences, fine arts, and music as well as interdisciplinary and pre-professional programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Music and historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
The National Autonomous University of Nicaragua at León is a state-funded public university of Nicaragua. UNAN-León is the oldest university in the country, established in 1812. History UNAN-León has its roots in the Tridentine Seminary College of Saint Raymond , established in the city of León in 1680. In 1812, UNAN-León became the second university in Central America and the last one established during the end of the Spanish colony on the continent of America.
Hampden–Sydney College is a private liberal arts men's college in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, Hampden–Sydney is the oldest privately chartered college in the Southern United States, the tenth-oldest college in the US, the last college founded before the American Declaration of Independence, and the oldest of only three four-year, all-male liberal arts colleges remaining in the United States . Hampden–Sydney College is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . Among its alumni is Presid...
The University of Hildesheim is a public university located in Hildesheim. History Alfeld University of Education – University of Hildesheim The University of Hildesheim originated from the University of Education in Alfeld established in 1946. Because of the massive destruction of the city of Hildesheim during the Second World War, the university has been relocated in Alfeld, which remained mostly intact. Under its director Hans Abmeier, 110 students were registered in the university in its first academic year in 1946/47, and approximately 50 students for several years after that. The aim...
American Jewish University is a private Jewish university in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 2007 from the merger of the University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute. AJU's academic division includes the College of Arts and Sciences, the Fingerhut School of Education, The David L. Lieber Graduate School, and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, a Conservative Jewish rabbinical seminary. AJU is host to the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program, which prepares students to convert to Judaism and engages interfaith couples and families, as well as three think tanks: the Insti...
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Westfield College
Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and became coeducational in 1964. In 1989, it merged with Queen Mary College. The merged institution was named Queen Mary and Westfield College until 2013, when the name was legally changed to Queen Mary University of London.
Bruce C. Berndt ranks among our Top Influential Mathematicians Today.
Orenburg State University , previously known as Orenburg Polytechnic Institute , is a university in Orenburg, Orenburg Oblast, Russia. History The university was founded in 1955 as a branch of Kuibyshev Polytechnic Institute. In 1971, it converted into Orenburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1994, it became Orenburg State Technical University. In 1996, converted into Orenburg State University. In 2014, Orenburg State Institute of Management integrated with Orenburg State University.
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, abbreviated as SPbPU , is a Russian technical university located in Saint Petersburg. Other former names included Peter the Great Polytechnic Institute and Kalinin Polytechnic Institute. The university houses one of the country's most advanced research labs in hydro–aerodynamics. The university's alumni include Nobel Prize winners, such as Pyotr Kapitsa and Zhores Alferov, physicists and atomic weapon designers such as Yulii Khariton, Nikolay Dukhov, Abram Ioffe, Aleksandr Leipunskii, and Yakov Zeldovich, aircraft designers and aerospace e...
The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary section of Grey College. It was declared an independent Afrikaans-language university in 1950 and the name was changed to the University of the Orange Free State. The university has two satellite campuses. Initially a whites-only precinct, the university was fully de-segregated in 1996. The first black university vice-chancellor was appointed in 2010.
Langston University is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Langston is a rural setting east of Guthrie. The University also serves an urban mission, with University Centers in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The university is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland and has a strategic partnership with the University of Maryland, College Park. Located on on the west side of downtown Baltimore, it is part of the University System of Maryland.
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Indiana University
Indiana University is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.Indiana University Bloomington is the flagship campus of Indiana University. The Bloomington campus is home to numerous premier Indiana University schools, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the Jacobs School of Music, an extension of the Indiana University School of Medicine, the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, which includes the former School of Li...
