Welcome to the QS Best Student Cities 2014, the second edition of this ranking of the world’s top 50 cities for students. Compiled by the team behind the QS World University Rankings®, the project was initiated with the idea of highlighting and comparing the world’s leading student cities, based on five key categories.
These five key areas are: university rankings, student mix, quality of living, employer activity and affordability. A total of 14 individual indicators are assessed, with two new ones added for the first time this year. (See the full methodology here.)
Once again, Paris and London occupy the two top spots, but Boston has now been knocked out of the third place by Singapore. Fellow Asian city-state Hong Kong has also climbed into the top 10, which previously lacked any Asian representatives. The remainder of the top 10 is comprised of two more European cities (Zurich and Munich), two Australian (Sydney and Melbourne) and one each from the US and Canada (Boston and Montréal).
Overall, European cities continue to dominate the ranking, occupying more than two-fifths of the places. However, the US is the country with most entries (7), followed by Australia, which now has 6 cities in the top 50.
QS Best Student Cities 2014: Fast Facts
- Paris and London occupy the top two spots, as in the first edition of the index.
- Singapore has climbed 10 places to 3rd, and is joined in the top 10 by fellow Asian city-state Hong Kong (7th).
- Europe remains the world region with most student cities in the top 50 – 21 European cities appear, compared to 10 in the US and Canada, 7 in Australia and New Zealand, 9 Asian, and 3 Latin American.
- A total of 30 countries are represented, with the most cities in the US (7), followed by Australia (6), Canada (3) and UK (3).
- New countries now represented in the top 50 are Norway (Oslo is 48th), New Zealand (Auckland is 18th), and Czech Republic (Prague is 45th). Also new this year are Edinburgh, Los Angeles and Canberra.
European cities
An impressive 21 European cities feature in the top 50 of the QS Best Student Cities this year. These 21 cities are spread across 16 different European countries, reflecting the continent’s broadly spread higher education strengths. The UK has the most top-50 entries (3), followed by France (2), Germany (2) and Spain (2).
European countries represented: France, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Finland, Norway
European cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2014: Paris, London, Zurich, Munich, Berlin, Dublin, Vienna, Copenhagen, Milan, Barcelona, Stockholm, Manchester, Madrid, Edinburgh (new), Brussels, Amsterdam, Moscow, Lyon, Prague (new), Helsinki, Oslo (new)
Asian cities
Just under a fifth of this year’s top 50 student cities are in Asia, with only Bangkok dropping out since the last edition of the index. Among those which retain their places, all except Kyoto have climbed by at least one place since the last edition – and there are now two Asian cities within the top 10: Singapore (3rd) and Hong Kong (7th).
Asia countries represented: Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia
Asian cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2014: Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing, Taipei, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Kyoto
North American cities
The US and Canada retain a strong presence in the index – 10 North American cities appear in the top 50, of which seven are in the US and three in Canada. The US’s highest entry is Boston (for the purposes of the index, nearby Cambridge – home of MIT and Harvard – is included within the Boston area), while Montréal remains Canada’s highest placed.
North American cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2014: Boston, Montréal, San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Vancouver, Chicago, Los Angeles (new), Washington DC, Philadelphia
Latin American cities
Just three Latin American cities feature in this year’s QS Best Student Cities, with Sao Paulo falling out of the top 50 since the last edition. Buenos Aires is the region’s highest placed, getting a very strong score in the “employer activity” category, while Mexico City gets one of the highest scores in the ranking for affordability – second only to Kuala Lumpur.
Latin American countries represented: Argentina, Mexico, Chile
Asian cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2014: Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Santiago
New Zealand and Australian cities
With six Australian cities now in the top 50, Australia retains an impressive presence in the index, beaten only by the US in its quantity of top student cities. Australian cities in general score especially well in the “student mix” category, which assesses the relative size and diversity of the student population. Meanwhile New Zealand gets its first entry this year, with Auckland entering the index at 18th.
New Zealand and Australian cities in the QS Best Student Cities 2014: Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland (new), Brisbane, Perth, Canberra (new), Adelaide