Oxford became the U.K.’s first university to top the Times Higher Education (THE) world rankings this year, ending the California Institute of Technology’s five-year streak.
Oxford’s rise can be attributed to its growing international reach: Research funding rose 10% and total income rose to 1.4 billion pounds ($1.83 billion), the Guardian reports. According to its own site, THE uses four indicators to compile the rankings: teaching, research, citations and international outlook.
Some have questioned whether universities like Oxford and Cambridge can retain their strength through the impending Brexit. Rankings editor Phil Baty told the Guardian, “The U.K. must ensure that it limits the damage to academics, students, universities and science during its Brexit negotiations to ensure that the U.K. remains one of the world leaders in higher education.”
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After Caltech in the No. 2 slot, Stanford University, the University of Cambridge, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology rounded out the top 5. Check out the full list here.
