Click here to discover the top universities for mathematics in 2019.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject includes a ranking of the 400 top universities for mathematics around the world, using global surveys of academics and employers, as well as data on research citations, to compare universities (find out more here).
Read on for an overview of the top math schools in each world region, or click here to explore the full interactive table.
Top 10 Universities for Mathematics in the World Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 |
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Rank |
Name of Institution |
Location |
1 |
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2 |
US |
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3 |
US |
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4 |
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5 |
UK |
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6 |
US |
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7 |
US |
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8 |
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9 |
US |
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10 |
US |
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Top universities for mathematics in the US and Canada
The US boasts 72 representatives in this year’s ranking, including 20 in the top 50. Outside the seven top math schools in the top 10, other high-ranking US institutions for mathematics include: California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (12th), the University of Chicago (13th), Yale University (=14th), Columbia University (=16th) and the University of Michigan (19th).
Heading north, 18 more of the world’s top universities for mathematics are based in Canada, three of which are in the top 50: the University of Toronto (ranked joint 16th), the University of British Columbia (=22nd) and the University of Waterloo (34th).
Top universities for mathematics in Europe
Of the 185 top math schools in Europe, 35 are in the UK, including eight in the top 100. Leaving aside the Oxbridge duo in the top 10, other high-ranking UK universities for this subject include Imperial College London (11th) and the University of Warwick (40th).
The next highest number of top math schools is found in Germany, which has 29 entrants in the ranking, including Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) in the top 50.
France also performs well, with 20 representatives in the ranking, including Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech at joint 22nd and Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (ENS Paris) at 32nd.
Although none of Italy’s 15 entrants make the top 50, Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza – Università di Roma and Università di Bologna (UNIBO) are all within the top 100.
Spain is home to 13 top math schools, including Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in the top 100. Elsewhere, the Netherlands has nine entrants in this year’s mathematics ranking, including Delft University of Technology and the University of Amsterdam.
A further 16 prestigious institutions for mathematics are divided between the Nordic countries, with six in Sweden, four in Denmark, and three each in Norway and Finland. Sweden’s KTH, Royal Institute of Technology is the highest ranked Nordic university for mathematics at 51-100, while the Danish Technical University of Denmark and the Finnish University of Helsinki also perform well at 101-150.
Russia offers eight top universities for mathematics, led by Lomonosov Moscow State University at 33rd. Switzerland and Belgium each have six top math schools in the ranking, with Switzerland’s ETH Zurich in the top 10 and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the top 50, while Belgium’s KU Leuven is the country’s highest-ranked at 51-100.
Elsewhere, Poland and Austria both have five institutions featured, while Portugal has four and Ireland has three. Of these four countries, the two highest-ranked universities for mathematics are in Austria, with Vienna University of Technology and the University of Vienna both ranked 101-150.
Finally, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia have two representatives in the ranking each, while Serbia and Greece have one. Of these final six countries, the highest-ranked institution for mathematics is the Czech Republic’s Charles University at 151-200.
Top universities for mathematics in Asia
China boasts 29 positions in this year’s math ranking, with two universities in the top 50 for this subject: Peking University (20th) and Tsinghua University (26th), plus three more schools in the top 100.
Japan claims 13 of the world’s top universities for this subject, with the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University both placed in the global top 50.
South Korea has 10 entrants in the ranking, again with two placed in the worldwide top 50 for this subject: Seoul National University (SNU) and KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology.
India has eight representatives included this year, including Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) at 101-150.
Hong Kong performs well, and is represented by six top math schools, all but one of which are in the top 100. Its two highest-ranked institutions for mathematics are the University of Hong Kong (HKU) (28th) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) (36th). Also with six representatives is Taiwan, led by the National Taiwan University (NTU) at 51-100.
Finally, Malaysia has five institutions featured among the world’s best for mathematics, while Singapore has two and Pakistan has one. Of these three countries, Singapore performs best, with both its entrants in the top 50: the National University of Singapore (NUS) (=14th) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) (=43rd).
Top universities for mathematics in Australia & New Zealand
Australia is home to 15 of the world’s top math schools, including three in the top 50: Australian National University (ANU) (27th), the University of Melbourne (=38th) and the University of Sydney (45th). A further three Australian universities also feature in the top 100 for this subject.
A further five top universities for this field are found in New Zealand, led by the University of Auckland at 51-100.
Top universities in mathematics in Latin America
A total of 15 top math schools are in the Latin America region, seven of which are within Brazil. Of these seven, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) is the country’s highest-ranked for mathematics at 51-100.
Chile has three representatives in the ranking, led by the Universidad de Chile at 101-150. Mexico and Colombia each have two entrants, with Mexico’s Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) ranked in the top 100. Lastly, Argentina is represented just once, by the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) which is ranked 101-150.
Top universities for mathematics in Africa & the Middle East
Israel is home to five entrants in the math ranking, led by Technion - Israel Institute of Technology at joint 47th. Elsewhere, Saudi Arabia has four representatives, with King Abdulaziz University (KAU) its highest ranked at 101-150. Turkey has just one entrant in the ranking: the Middle East Technical University, ranked 351-400.
In Africa there are just two universities which have been included in this year’s ranking, both of which are found in South Africa: the University of Cape Town (ranked 301-350) and the University of the Witwatersrand (351-400).
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