The Shanghai ranking, published annually since 2003 by Jiao Tong University, is one of the five major international rankings*. It takes into account scientific publications and the number of Nobel Prize graduates from the institutions.
The highly prestigious university ranking once again honors American institutions, with 16 of them appearing in the top 20. In France, there are a total of 20 universities and 3 institutions in the top 100.
French universities are maintaining their positions in the latest edition of the Shanghai ranking. With 20 universities in the top 500 and 3 institutions in the top 100, France remains at the sixth position among countries placing the most universities in the prestigious ranking. Unsurprisingly, American universities dominate the top spots. The United States has 16 universities in the world top 20 and 48 institutions in the top 100.
Pierre-et-Marie-Curie University in Paris, ranked 40th, remains the top French institution despite dropping one place, just ahead of Paris-Sud University (41st) which gained five places. The third and last French university in the top 100, the École Normale Supérieure in Paris (ENS), is in 69th position after jumping 18 places compared to the 2016 edition.
Beyond the 100th place, the Shanghai ranking operates in ranges, going up to the 500th position that concludes the list. There are 16 other French universities in these ranges, which have remained generally stable this year. The École Normale Supérieure in Lyon and the University of Montpellier have progressed from the 301-400 range to the 201-300 range. Conversely, the University Toulouse-I-Capitole and the École Polytechnique have dropped a range, respectively to the 301-400 position and to the 401-500 position for the renowned engineering school.
“This overall stability combined with significant individual progressions demonstrates the strength of the French universities’ position, which have managed to assert themselves against increasingly strong international competition over the past ten years,” commented Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education, in a statement.
While the French universities ranked this year generally maintain their levels from 2016, it should be noted that two universities have dropped out of the overall ranking compared to 2016. The Paris-Sorbonne University and Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, which appeared in the 401-500 range last year, have dropped out of the ranking this year.
