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London. American and British institutions once again dominated an annual worldwide league table of universities published on Thursday, but there is a fresh name at the top, unseating long-time leader Harvard.

California Institute of Technology (Caltech) knocked the famous Massachusetts institution from the summit of the Times Higher Education (THE) league table for the first time in eight years, with United States schools claiming 75 of the top 200 places.

Next is Britain, which boasts 32 establishments in the top 200, but an overhaul in the way in which the country’s universities are funded has raised concerns over its continuing success.

Asia’s increasing presence has stalled, with 30th placed University of Tokyo leading the continent’s representation.

China’s top two universities hold onto their elite status, but no more institutions from the developing powerhouse managed to break into the top 200.

THE attributed Caltech’s success to “consistent results across the indicators and a steep rise in research funding.”

Caltech specializes in science and engineering and has its main campus a short distance north of Los Angeles.

The 365-year-old Harvard, which loses the top spot for the first time since THE began publishing a global university ranking, shares second place with California university Stanford.

There was also a change at the top in Britain, where Oxford sneaked into fourth spot to overtake Cambridge, which slipped to sixth.

The turnabout can be put down to a greater emphasis being put on the arts, humanities and social sciences in this year’s study, THE said.

The top 10 places are mainly occupied by American universities, including Princeton, Berkeley and Chicago.

Only two universities from outside the United States and Britain — Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology in 15th spot and Canada’s University of Toronto in 19th — made the top 20.

 

Agence France-Presse