London and Paris top table for most prestigious universities

London and Paris have the highest number of prestigious universities in the world in a new league table.

Both cities have five universities judged to have the best reputations, according to a poll of academics.

While the two cities are in joint top place, London’s universities are rated higher. Imperial College, University College London, the London School of Economics, King’s College London and the London Business School all made it into the top 100.

Last year, however, it did even better with six universities in the top 100. This year the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine dropped out of the top 100 while the number of top universities in Paris rose from two to five, pushing it into joint first place.

Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education Rankings, said: “This new research … confirms what many Londoners must have suspected for some time — no city in the world can match London for world-class teaching and research. Both cities have five each of the world’s top 100 most prestigious universities, but London’s are higher ranked.

“Imperial College London, University College London, the London School of Economics and King’s College London all make the top 40 of this new world ranking, while Paris’s top institution does not make the top 50. The bragging rights today, and it would seem for the longer term future, are London’s.”

The ranking is based on the judgment of 10,000 university academics from around the world, who were asked to nominate the best 10 institutions in their field of expertise.

Kevin McCarthy, head of education at London and Partners, the Mayor’s business and promotional organisation, said: “London has a fantastic concentration of the world’s most prestigious universities demonstrating that the city, and the rest of the UK, offer world- class centres of higher education.”