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 Law,
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related arts in the areas of theater, film, and television. Students also have the opportunity to audition for the third-year theater company, which showcases upcoming talent to the school and community. Students can usually transfer completed credits to another college or university to finish a bachelor's degree if they choose.
Aberystwyth University is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic faculties and 17 departments.
California State University, Northridge , is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students , it has the second largest undergraduate population as well as the third largest total student body in the California State University system, making it one of the largest comprehensive universities in the United States in terms of enrollment size. The size of CSUN also has a major impact on the California economy, with an estimated $1.9 billion in economic output generated by CSUN on a yearly basis. As of Fall 2021, the univer...
Southwest University of Political Science and Law is a national public university located in Chongqing, China. It was founded in 1953 with the original name Southwest College of Political Science and Law. It was one of the first faculties of political science and law established after the People's Republic of China was established. Its law school ranks third among all the law schools in China. Notable alumni include Liang Huixing, Liang Zhiping, He Weifang, Xu Zhangrun and Zhang Xinbao.
The Imam Sadiq University is an Islamic private university in Tehran, Iran. Established in 1982, the goal of the university is to bridge the gap between Islamic researches and modern studies, especially humanities. Imam Sadiq was established on the premises that used to house the Harvard School of Management until the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Andrés Bello Catholic University also known in Spanish as Universidad Católica Andrés Bello is a private university in Venezuela. One of the largest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas , Los Teques, Guayana, and Coro.
Tribhuvan University is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. The college offers 1000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, the institution has 62 constituent campuses and over 1080 affiliated colleges across the country.
Francisco Marroquín University , also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal, and overall economic principles of a society of free and responsible persons."
Royal Holloway, University of London , formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departments and approximately 10,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 100 countries. The campus is located west of Egham, Surrey, from central London. It is listed by The Sutton Trust as one of the 30 "most highly selective" British universities.
The University of Duisburg-Essen is a public research university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. In the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the university was awarded 194th place in the world. It was originally founded in 1654 and re-established on 1 January 2003, as a merger of the Gerhard Mercator University of Duisburg and the university of Essen. It is based in both the cities of Duisburg and Essen, and a part of University Alliance Metropolis Ruhr.
Shanxi University is a public university located in the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi province, China. The university was selected into the Double First Class University Plan in February 2022. History Early 1900 The Shansi Imperial University was the predecessor of the Shanxi University, which was alternatively romanized as the Shansi University. The Shansi Imperial University was prepared in 1901 by Cen Chunxuan, then-governor of Shanxi, and on May 8, 1902, the Shansi Imperial University officially added the College of Western Studies, which was headed by the Welsh Baptist missionary Timothy Richard, focusing on teaching western technologies.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was founded in 1824. RPI is organized into six schools, which together comprise 37 departments. The majority of courses they offer have a STEM emphasis. RPI’s most popular courses are those in engineering, in computer and information sciences, and in physical sciences. RPI is associated with one Nobel laureate—Ivar Giaever for physics. Other distinguished RPI-connected individuals include the following: RPI is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS).
China Foreign Affairs University is a public university for diplomats located in Beijing, China. It is jointly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China.
Concordia University is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the three universities in Quebec where English is the primary language of instruction . As of the 2022–23 academic year, there were 49,898 students enrolled in credit and non-credit courses at Concordia, making the university among the largest in Canada by enrolment. The university has two campuses, set approximately apart: Sir George Williams Campus is the main campus, locate...
The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
The University of León is a Spanish public university with campus in León and Ponferrada. The university is found in 1843, when it was created the Normal School for Teachers or Masters Seminar of Public Instruction and the subaltern school of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1852, laying the foundations of Leon future university. Founded in 1979 as a splitting of the University of Oviedo, from the various schools and colleges that depend on that, more or less existed long ago in the city of Leon.
The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to be set up in northern Kerala. The university is coordinated by the University Grants Commission .
Lincoln University is a public state-related historically black university near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and is the second HBCU in the state, after Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Lincoln is also recognized as the first college-degree granting HBCU in the country. Its main campus is located on 422 acres near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university has a second location in the University City area of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides undergraduate and graduate coursework to approximately 2,000 students.
The Vienna University of Economics and Business is a public research university in Vienna, Austria, the largest university focusing on business, management and economics in Europe. It has been ranked as one of the best business schools in Europe and received Triple accreditation . Vienna University of Economics and Business ranked 36th among more than 13,000 universities worldwide offering degrees in Business & Management in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by subject. Today, WU has more than 20,000 students and over 400 researchers and lecturers, among those about 90 full professors. It increasingly draws students from outside Austria, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe.
Gakushūin University is a private university in Mejiro, Toshima Ward, Tokyo. It was re-established after World War II as tertiary component of the Gakushūin School Corporation as privatized successor to the original Gakushūin University was established during the Meiji period to educate the children of the Japanese nobility. It is still one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, counting most of the members of the present Imperial Family among its former or present students. The average number of students is capped so that each student can receive personal attention from the staff.
The University of Kassel is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 professors.
The National Research Tomsk State University, TSU is a public research university located in Tomsk, Russia. The university, which opened in 1888, was the first university in the Asian part of Russia and, in practice, the first Russian university East of the Volga.
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.
The Pontifical University of Salamanca is a private Roman Catholic university based in Salamanca, Spain. History This Pontifical University has its origins in the University of Salamanca, founded in 1218 and one of the oldest institutions of Europe and the whole world. Resulting from the resolution of the Spanish kingdom of dissolving the faculties of Theology and Canon Law at the University of Salamanca in 1854, Pope Pius XII decided to establish a new pontifical university and restore those faculties in a new institution. Additional faculties and schools were added over the years.
Janet E. Helms ranks among our Top Influential Psychologists Today.
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.
Kansas State University is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public institution of higher learning in the state of Kansas. It had a record high enrollment of 24,766 students for the Fall 2014 semester.
Chung-Ang University is one of the leading private research universities in Seoul, South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak District, Seoul, and an additional campus in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. CAU consists of 16 undergraduate colleges and 16 graduate schools.
The University of Teramo is an Italian public research university located in Teramo, Italy. The academic institution was officially established in 1993 after having been a detached section of the D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara for over 30 years.
The University of Banja Luka is the second-oldest university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A public university, it is the flagship institution of higher education in Republika Srpska, one of two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2018–19 school year, there are 11,186 enrolled students.
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...
Pázmány Péter Catholic University is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church and recognized by the state. Founded in 1635, the PPCU is one of Hungary's oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education.
Soochow University is a provincial public university in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Jiangsu, and co-sponsored by the SASTIND and the provincial government. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First Class University Plan.
The University of Guayaquil , known colloquially as the Estatal , is a public university in Guayaquil, Guayas Province, Ecuador. Estatal was founded in 1883. It is the oldest university in the city of Guayaquil and has the largest student body . It operates six extension universities throughout the country.
The is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the University of Amsterdam . The literal translation of the Dutch name is "Free University". "Free" refers to independence of the university from both the State and the Dutch Reformed Church. Both within and outside the university, the institution is commonly referred to as "the VU". Although founded as a private institution, the VU has received government funding on a parity basis with public universities since 1970.
Kazan Federal University is a public research university located in Kazan, Russia. The university was founded in 1804 as Imperial Kazan University, which makes it the second oldest continuously existing tertiary education institution in Russia. Founder of non-Euclidean geometry Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky served there as the rector from 1827 until 1846. In 1925, the university was renamed in honour of its student Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov . The university is known as the birthplace of organic chemistry due to works by Aleksandr Butlerov, Vladimir Markovnikov, Aleksandr Arbuzov, and the birth...
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hanyang University is a private research university in Seoul and Ansan , South Korea. Hanyang derives from the former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon Dynasty. The university was founded in 1939 as an engineering school, and was the country's first college to offer engineering and architecture programs.
Mahidol University is an autonomous public research university in Thailand. It had its origin in the establishment of Siriraj Hospital in 1888. Becoming the University of Medical Science in 1943, it has been recognized as the country's fourth public university. The university was later renamed in 1969 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej after his father, Prince Mahidol of Songkhla, the "Father of Modern Medicine and Public Health of Thailand".
Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher education institution featuring a three-semester-per-year timetable.
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institution was previously known as Battersea College of Technology and was located in Battersea Park, London. Its roots however, go back to Battersea Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891 to provide further and higher education in London, including its poorer inhabitants.
The University of Canterbury is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbury College, the first constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is New Zealand's second-oldest university, after the University of Otago, which was founded four years earlier, in 1869.
University of Phoenix is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree levels. It is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has an open enrollment admissions policy for many undergraduate programs. The school is owned by Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group, two US private-equity firms, but is in the process of being acquired by Four Three Education, a non-profit organization affiliated with the Universi...
The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is a National Law University located in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. In 2023, it was ranked 4th among law colleges in India by National Institutional Ranking Framework and 2nd by India Today. It comes under the exclusive chancellorship and purview of the [Chief Justice of India].
Valparaiso University is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is an independent Lutheran university with five undergraduate colleges and a graduate school. It enrolls nearly 2,900 students and has a campus.
Southern University and A&M College is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university in Louisiana, a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and the flagship institution of the Southern University System. Its campus encompasses 512 acres, with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre site, five miles north of the main campus on Scott's Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River in the northern section of Baton Rouge.
The Catholic University of Portugal , also referred to as Católica or UCP for short, is a concordat university headquartered in Lisbon and with four locations: Lisbon, Braga, Porto and Viseu. Besides the four centres in Portugal, UCP also has the University of Saint Joseph in Macau as its affiliate.
Hiroshima University is a Japanese national university located in Higashihiroshima and Hiroshima, Japan. Established in 1929, it was chartered as a university in 1949 following the merge of a number of national educational institutions.
The University of South Dakota is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship university for the state of South Dakota and the state's oldest public university. It occupies a campus located in southeastern South Dakota, approximately southwest of Sioux Falls, northwest of Sioux City, Iowa, and north of the Missouri River.