رنکینگ بهترین دانشگاههای جهان  در سال ۲۰۰۸ توسط نشریه اموزش عالی تایمز که معتبرترین رنکینگ دانشگاههای جهان را ارائه میدهد اعلام شده که ۵ دانشگاه برتر جهان عبارتند از:هاروارد و ییل وکمبریج و اکسفورد و انستیتو تکنولوژی کالیفرنیا.و در رشته های مهندسی دانشگاه mit وبرکلی و استنفورد در صدر قرار دارند.از ایران فقط دانشگاه تهران دارای رنکینگ بین ۴۰۰ تا ۵۰۰ وصنعتی شریف بین ۵۰۰ تا ۶۰۰ هستند این در حالیست که کشورهایی مثل مالزی اندونزی تایلند ترکیه و پاکستان از نظر تعداد دانشگاه و رنکینگ دانشگاهها وضعیت بهتری دارند .

این هم لینک:http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/results/2008/overall_rankings/fullrankings

در این لینک رنکینگ سالهای قبل و بهترین دانشگاهها در گرایشهای مهندسی و علوم انسانی و هنر و... نیز مشخص شده اند
2008 2007

University Name

 Country
Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.topuniversities.com) 
Copyright © 2004-2008 QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.
Click here for copyright and limitations on use.
1 1 HARVARD University United States
2 2= YALE University United States
3 2= University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
4 2= University of OXFORD United Kingdom
5 7= CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Calt... United States
6 5 IMPERIAL College London United Kingdom
7 9 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom
8 7= University of CHICAGO United States
9 10 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (M... United States
10 11 COLUMBIA University United States
11 14 University of PENNSYLVANIA United States
12 6 PRINCETON University United States
13= 13 DUKE University United States
13= 15 JOHNS HOPKINS University United States
15 20= CORNELL University United States
16 16 AUSTRALIAN National University Australia
17 19 STANFORD University United States
18 38= University of MICHIGAN United States
19 17 University of TOKYO Japan
20 12 MCGILL University Canada
21 20= CARNEGIE MELLON University United States
22 24 KING'S College London United Kingdom
23 23 University of EDINBURGH United Kingdom
24 42 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of T... Switzerland
25 25 KYOTO University Japan
26 18 University of HONG KONG Hong Kong
27 32 BROWN University United States
28 26 École Normale Supérieure, PARIS France
29 30 University of MANCHESTER United Kingdom
30= 33= National University of SINGAPORE(NUS) Singapore
30= 41 University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (U... United States
32 37 University of BRISTOL United Kingdom
33 29 NORTHWESTERN University United States
34= 28 ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE France
34= 33= University of BRITISH COLUMBIA Canada
36 22 University of California, BERKELEY United States
37 31 The University of SYDNEY Australia
38 27 The University of MELBOURNE Australia
39 53= HONG KONG University of Science & Techno... Hong Kong
40 49 NEW YORK University (NYU) United States
41 45 University of TORONTO Canada
42 38= The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
43 33= University of QUEENSLAND Australia
44 46 OSAKA University Japan
45 44 University of NEW SOUTH WALES Australia
46 47 BOSTON University United States
47 43 MONASH University Australia
48 93= University of COPENHAGEN Denmark
49 53= TRINITY College Dublin Ireland
50= 117= Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE... Switzerland
50= 36 PEKING University China
50= 51= SEOUL National University Korea, South
53 48 University of AMSTERDAM Netherlands
54 71= DARTMOUTH College United States
55 55= University of WISCONSIN-Madison United States
56 40 TSINGHUA University China
57 60 HEIDELBERG Universität Germany
58 58 University of CALIFORNIA, San Diego United States
59 55= University of WASHINGTON United States
60 161= WASHINGTON University in St. Louis United States
61 90= TOKYO Institute of Technology Japan
62 74= EMORY University United States
63 71= UPPSALA University Sweden
64 84 LEIDEN University Netherlands
65 50 The University of AUCKLAND New Zealand
66 59 LONDON School of Economics and Political... United Kingdom
67 89 UTRECHT University Netherlands
68 105 University of GENEVA Switzerland
69 57 University of WARWICK United Kingdom
70 51= University of TEXAS at Austin United States
71 73 University of ILLINOIS United States
72 61 Katholieke Universiteit LEUVEN Belgium
73 83 University of GLASGOW United Kingdom
74 97= University of ALBERTA Canada
75 65= University of BIRMINGHAM United Kingdom
76 68 University of SHEFFIELD United Kingdom
77 69 NANYANG Technological University Singapore
78= 63 DELFT University of Technology Netherlands
78= 92 RICE University United States
78= 67 Technische Universität MÜNCHEN Germany
81= 114= University of AARHUS Denmark
81= 74= University of YORK United Kingdom
83= 97= GEORGIA Institute of Technology United States
83= 64 The University of WESTERN AUSTRALIA Australia
83= 76 University of ST ANDREWS United Kingdom
86 70 University of NOTTINGHAM United Kingdom
87 142= University of MINNESOTA United States
88 106 LUND University Sweden
89 96 University of CALIFORNIA, Davis United States
90 85= CASE WESTERN RESERVE University United States
91= 93= Université de Montréal Canada
91= 100 University of HELSINKI Finland
93= 128 Hebrew University of JERUSALEM Israel
93= 65= Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany
95 132= KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Scie... Korea, South
96 110 University of VIRGINIA United States
97 77= University of PITTSBURGH United States
98 117= University of CALIFORNIA, Santa Barbara United States
99= 77= PURDUE University United States
99= 80= University of SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom