For the first time a Brazilian university has been ranked among the top 100 universities in the world by QS World University, a renowned UK consultancy specializing in higher education. The University of Sao Paulo (USP) secured the 85th position in the overall ranking, as announced Tuesday (Jun. 27). The information can be found in the newspaper Jornal da USP.

In this year's edition, the survey assessed some 3 thousand universities in 104 countries. The leaderboard is topped by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the US, followed by the University of Cambridge, in the UK, and the University of Oxford, also in the UK.

Alongside USP, three other Brazilian institutions made it to the global top 500: the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), with the 220th position, followed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), at 371st, and the State University of Sao Paulo (Unesp), at 419th.

A methodology update was implemented in this edition of the list, including three new indicators: sustainability, employability, and international research network. Existing indicators were also revamped-such as academic reputation, scientific citations, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, proportion of international students, and international faculty.

"Our strengths lie in our academic reputation, the excellence of our research, the high regard we enjoy among employers, and the social impact of the work carried out by our graduates," said USP President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior.

"The mission of a university is not to compete in rankings. These are merely a byproduct, not an ultimate goal. Nonetheless, news of our projection reaffirms our conviction that we are on the right path," he added.

Source: Agencia Brasil