These Are The Best Universities In Europe

Nick Jardine
university of manchester

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

When Times Higher Education published its list of the world’s best universities it was dominated by American institutions.In fact, only three European schools made the top 10. However, don’t dismiss the continent’s colleges just yet. Europe is home to the world’s oldest educational institutions and still boasts some great establishments.

Additionally, some fantastic minds have passed through the hallways of Europe’s finest universities. Some of the founders of modern thinking shaped their ideologies at the following places.

Times Higher Education ranks institutions based on teaching, international outlook, industry income, citations and research. High score across the board guarantees a high ranking.

So, have a look at which countries boast the best schools.

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#20 Universität Heidelberg, Germany

World rank: 73

Number of students: 28,000

Number of faculty: 4,200

Fees: €1,200 ($1,670) per year

Famous alumni: Max Weber, Helmut Kohl, Robert Schumann

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#19 Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

World rank: 69

Number of students: 24,000

Number of faculty: 11,000

Fees: €1,414 ($1,970) per year

Famous alumni: Otto von Bismarck, J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Brothers Grimm

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#18 Utrecht University, Netherlands

World rank: 68

Number of students: 30,000

Number of faculty: 7,500

Fees: €1,713 ($2,385) per year

Famous alumni: Jan Jacob Slauerhoffe, Christiaan Eijkman, Maung Maung

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#17 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

World rank: 67

Number of students: 37,000

Number of faculty: 6,000

Fees: €1,155 ($1,600) per year

Famous alumni: Herman Van Rompuy, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Saint Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#16 University of Bristol, UK

World rank: 66

Number of students: 23,000

Number of faculty: 5,800

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) per year

Famous alumni: Matt Lucas, Simon Pegg, Dominique Strauss-Kahn

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#15 École Polytechnique, France

World rank: 63

Number of students: 2,700

Number of faculty: 660

Fees: Free for French nationals. 10 years of public service is due after joining the school.

Famous alumni: Henri Becquerel, Andre Citroen, Michel Pebereau

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#14 University of Zurich, Switzerland

World rank: 61

Number of students: 24,000

Number of faculty: 2,000

Fees: CHF 1,280 ($1,455) a year

Famous alumni: Albert Einstein, Alfred Werner, Theoder Mommsen

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#13 École Normale Supérieure, France

World rank: 59

Number of students: 2,950

Number of faculty: 800

Fees: €3,000 ($4,170) per year. Post-graduate courses only.

Famous alumni: Emile Durkheim, George Pompidou, Jean Giraudoux

SOURCE:

#12 King's College London, UK

World rank: 56

Number of students: 23,000

Number of faculty: 5,000

Fees: £3,750 ($6,000) a year

Famous alumni: John Keats, Thomas Hardy, Michael Nyman

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#11 University of Manchester, UK

World rank: 48

Number of students: 39,000

Number of faculty: 4,000

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) a year

Famous alumni: Anthony Burgess, Ernest Rutherford, Joseph E. Stiglitz

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#10 London School of Economic, UK

World rank: 47

Number of students: 9,000

Number of faculty: 3,000

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) per year

Famous alumni: Pete Rouse, Ed Miliband, George Soros

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#9 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

World rank: 46

Number of students: 7,000

Number of faculty: 3,000

Fees: CHF 1266 ($1,440) a year

Famous alumni: Andre Gorz, Andre Kudelski, Franck Riboud

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#8 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

World rank: 45

Number of students: 44,000

Number of faculty: 3,600

Fees: €1,082 ($1,500) per year

Famous alumni: Pope Benedict XVI, Manfred Worner, Theodor Heuss

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#7 University of Edinburgh, UK

World rank: 36

Number of students: 24,000

Number of faculty: 8,000

Fees: £1,820 ($2,900) per year

Famous alumni: Sir Walter Scott, Adam Smith, David Hume

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#6 Karolinska Institute, Sweden

World rank: 32

Number of students: 8,000

Number of faculty: 2,300

Fees: None for EU citizens.

Famous alumni: Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Sune Bergström, Lars Leksell

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#5 University College London, UK

World rank: 17

Number of students: 21,600

Number of faculty: 8,000

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) per year

Famous alumni: Ricky Gervais, Jomo Kenyatta, Christopher Nolan

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#4 ETH Zürich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, Switzerland

World rank: 15

Number of students: 15,000

Number of faculty: 3,900

Fees: CHF 1160 ($1,320) per year

Famous alumni: Karl Alexander Mueller, Albert Einstein, Carlos Kleiber

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#3 Imperial College London, UK

World rank: 8

Number of students: 13,000

Number of faculty: 1,200

Fees: £3,290 ($5,265) per year

Famous alumni: Rajiv Gandhi, Brian May, Sir Roger Bannister

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#2 Cambridge University, UK

World rank: 6

Number of students: 18,300

Number of faculty: 8,500

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) per year

Famous alumni: Stephen Fry, Sacha Baron Cohen, John Cleese

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

#1 Oxford University, UK

World rank: 4

Number of students: 21,000

Number of faculty: N/A

Fees: £3,375 ($5,400) per year

Famous alumni: David Cameron, Oscar Wilde, Hugh Grant

SOURCE: Times Higher Education

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