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 Religious Studies,
Sultan Qaboos University is a public university located in al-Seeb, Oman. Established in 1986, it is one of the two public universities in the country and is named after Qaboos bin Said al-Said, the Sultan of Oman from 1970 until 2020.
The University of South Florida is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is home to 14 colleges, offering more than 240 undergraduate, graduate, specialist, and doctoral-level degree programs. USF is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. USF is a member of the Association of American Universities ...
The University of Vermont , officially titled as University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1791, the university is the oldest in Vermont and the fifth-oldest in New England, making it among the oldest in the United States. It is one of the original eight Public Ivies.
Eden Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Webster Groves, Missouri, near St. Louis, Missouri. The seminary was established in 1850 by German pastors in what was then the American frontier. The pastors soon formed the German Evangelical Synod of North America. This, after subsequent mergers, became a part of the UCC. One of the early campuses in St. Louis became Normandy High School. The school was augmented by a merger with the Central Theological Seminary, an institution of the Reformed Church in the United States in Dayton, Ohio, in the 1930s, concurrent with ...
The Government College University , is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. GCU is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university in 2002.
Chung Yuan Christian University is a private university in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The university was established as Chung Yuan Christian College of Science and Engineering in 1955 by a group of Taiwanese and American Christian educators to train science and engineering talent in the Christian spirit. The school was upgraded to a full university and renamed Chung Yuan Christian University in 1980. CYCU is a Member of United Board.
Aletheia University is a private university in Tamsui, New Taipei City and Madou, Tainan in Taiwan. It was founded by George Leslie Mackay as Oxford College. It has close links to the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Taiwan.
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum in three academic divisions with 39 majors. As of 2020, it is one of only three private, non-religious, all-male colleges in the United States.
The University of Bari Aldo Moro is a state-supported higher education institution founded in 1925 in Bari, Apulia, in Southern Italy. The university is one of the most prestigious universities in southern Italy and it is one of the largest in Italy, with a student population of around 60,000. A recent name change refers to the statesman Aldo Moro , a student of law there until 1939 who then served as ordinary professor of philosophy of Law and Colonial Policy and of Criminal Law .
Simon Fraser University is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby , Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and comprises more than 30,000 students and 160,000 alumni. The university was created in an effort to expand higher education across Canada.
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences is a medical school in Khuzestan Province of Iran. Located in southwestern Iran in the city of Ahvaz, the university was established as a College of Medicine administered by the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in 1955, which itself was a revived reincarnation of the ancient Academy of Gundishapur that existed in the same area in antiquity. The university separated and fell under the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran in 1986.
St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf II of Norway and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was visited by King Olav in 1987 and King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway in 2011. Queen Sonja of Norway visited the college's campus a second time in 2022 as part of a tour to celebrate the connections between Norway and Minnesota's Norwegian-American community. Sh...
The Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica is an institution of higher education maintained by the Brazilian Air Force and is located in São José dos Campos, Brazil. ITA is consistently ranked as one of the top engineering schools in Brazil and engages in advanced research in aerospace science and technology.
The University of Zimbabwe is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University of Rhodesia, and adopted its present name upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. UZ is the oldest university in Zimbabwe.
Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Catholic graduate school and seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded by the Dominican Order and is sponsored by the Province of St. Albert the Great. Academics The institute offers a number of graduate degrees in theology and ministry, including a Master of Arts in Theology , a Master of Divinity , and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies .
The National University of Engineering is a public engineering and science university located in the Rímac District of Lima, Peru. It's widely considered as one of Peru's most prestigious educational institutions.
Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz is a major Iranian University in Ahvaz, Khuzestan, Iran. By the ISC ranking, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz is 13th largest and top university in Iran. SCU University is considered one of Iran's "Grade A" universities by Iranian Ministry of Science. The campus today has and houses 13 colleges. In 2010, 4798 students were enrolled.
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 ...
Clermont Auvergne University is a public research university with its main campus in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It was created with the merger of Blaise Pascal University and the University of Auvergne on 1 January 2017.
The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its early existence, a constituent college of the University of St Andrews alongside United College and St Mary's College located in the town of St Andrews itself. Following significant expansion, the University of Dundee gained independent university status by royal charter in 1967 while retaining elements of its ancient heritage and governance structure.
Tibet University is a public university in Lhasa, Tibet, China. The university is one of China's national key universities and the largest university in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First Class University Plan. With an internationally renowned department of Tibetan studies and a majority ethnic Tibetan student body, the university maintains a focus on local communities and cultures.
Wayne State University is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 24,000 graduate and undergraduate students. Wayne State University, along with the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, compose the University Research Corridor of Michigan. Wayne State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
Florida International University is a public research university with its main campus in the neighborhood of University Park in the Westchester CDP of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florida and the eighth-largest public university in the United States by enrollment. FIU is a constituent part of the State University System of Florida.
Hongik University is a private university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded by an activist in 1946, the university is located in Mapo-gu district of central Seoul, South Korea with a second campus in Sejong.
The Artha Wacana Christian University is a private university located in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. History The university was founded on 4 September 1985 in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara as a continuation of Artha Wacana Academy of Theology. 'Artha' can be translated as purpose while 'Wacana' as word and as a whole, Artha Wacana Christian University means the university where its purpose comes from the word .
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the institution was founded in 1240. It had around 16,000 students in 2022, which is nearly one-third of Siena's total population of around 53,000. Today, the University of Siena is best known for its Schools of Law, Medicine, and Economics and Management.
The Juilliard School , often abbreviated simply as Juilliard, is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named after its principal benefactor Augustus D. Juilliard. Juilliard is one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the world.
The American University in Cairo is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program.
Dokuz Eylül University is a university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1982 and is organized in 15 faculties. DEU is the first university which applied the problem-based learning method in Turkey, beginning in the School of Medicine in 1997.
Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. The college provides a work-study grant that covers the remaining tuition fees after subtracting the total sum a student received from Pell Grant, other grants, and scholarships. Berea's primary service region is southern Appalachia but students come from more than 40 states in the United States and 70 other countries. Approximately one in three students identify as people of color.
The Universidad de San Ignacio was a university in the city of Manila which existed during the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines. It was founded in 1590 and is one of the earliest educational institutions built by Europeans in East Asia when it was established by Spanish Jesuits headed by Fr. Antonio Sedeño, S.J. The school ceased its existence following the expulsion of the Jesuits in the archipelago in 1768.
The American University of Afghanistan was a private university located in the Darulaman section of Kabul. Former students of AUAF live abroad and, as of 2022, there are plans to create a new AUAF campus in Qatar. AUAF was the country's first private, not-for-profit institution of higher education and was located in Kabul near the Darul Aman Palace and the Afghan Parliament.
DePauw University is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury University and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Padjadjaran University is a public university located in Sumedang Regency and Bandung, which is the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It was established on September 11, 1957. UNPAD has gained the most applicant and highest passing grade in National Selection of State University Entrance since 2013. In 2014, UNPAD was officially set as State University of Legal Entities and accredited "A" by BAN-PT. It also ranked as top ten universities in Indonesia by Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in 2016. In the 2019 QS World Universities Ranking, UNPAD is ranked 4th in I...
Oxford Brookes University is a public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university was named after its first principal, John Henry Brookes, who played a major role in the development of the institution.
Claremont McKenna College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and international relations. CMC is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium.
ESIEE Paris is a grande école of engineering located in Marne-la-Vallée. The school was established in 1904 and is part of the ESIEE network of graduate schools. ESIEE Paris offers its students general engineering training with the aim of enabling them to design, produce and oversee complex industrial systems while meeting strict economic constraints and dealing with an international environment. To accomplish this, the school renders advanced scientific and technological training, which is frequently updated to keep pace with changes in the leading edge technologies and supplemented by its a...
The University of A Coruña is a Spanish public university located in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. Established in 1989, university departments are divided between two primary campuses in A Coruña and nearby Ferrol. The A Coruña campus is spread over three suburbs on the outskirts of A Coruña: Elviña and Zapateira and Oza .
The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum , was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Busleyden. The three languages taught were Latin, Greek and Hebrew. It was the model for the Collège de France founded in 1530. It is located in Leuven, Belgium.
Valabhi University was an important center of Buddhist learning and championed the cause of Hinayana Buddhism between 600 CE and 1400 CE. Valabhi was the capital of the Maitraka empire during the period 480-775 CE. It was an important port for international trade located in Saurashtra, present-day it is called Valabhi located in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat in western India, identical with the old state of Vala. Yijing, a Chinese traveller had observed that education given at valabhi was comparable to the education provided at Nalanda, in Bihar, in the field of education. In September 2017, the Indian central government started to consider a proposal to revive the ancient university.
Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern era. It offers different undergraduate and postgraduate degree level courses.
The University of Piura is a private university in Peru. It has two campuses, the main one is in Piura, while a more recently built one is located in the Miraflores District of Lima. In 1964, Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, at a meeting with professors from the University of Navarra in Spain, decided to create a new university. It was founded by St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer and in 1969, it was officially recognized as a university.
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.
Smolensk State University is a public university located in Smolensk, Smolensk Oblast, Russia. History It was formed on November 7, 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars. Initially, the university combined humanitarian, natural-scientific and medical educational directions. In accordance with the government decision on the reform of higher and secondary vocational education, by order of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR of April 18, 1930, the university was reorganized into two independent institutes: the Smolensk State Pedagogical Institute of the People's ...
Xavier University is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 students and graduate enrollment of 1,269 students. The school's system comprises the main campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as regional locations for the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in Columbus and Cleveland.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public research university in Clear Water Bay Peninsula, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991 by the British Hong Kong Government, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status.
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.
The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took the name The University of Scranton. The institution was operated by the Diocese of Scranton from its founding until 1897. While the Diocese of Scranton retained ownership of the university, it was administered by the Lasallian Christian Brothers from 1888 to 1942. In 1942, the Society of Jesus took ownership and control of the university. During the 196...