The QS BRICS University Rankings 2019, released today, features an impressive 101 of the top universities in Russia, ranked based on a methodology which assesses each institution on eight indicators. The BRICS ranking, launched annually since 2013, aims to highlight the strongest institutions in the fast-growing economies of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

Read on to discover this year’s top 10 in Russia, along with information on each institution’s subject strengths in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.

10. Moscow State Institute of International Relations – MGIMO University

Dubbed the ‘Harvard of Russia’ by Henry Kissinger, Moscow State Institute of International Relations – MGIMO University is down slightly in this year’s BRICS ranking to rank 44^th, but nonetheless remains one of the 10 highest-ranked universities in Russia, not to mention one of the hardest to gain admission for. MGIMO earned a perfect score for faculty-student ratio indicator, showing that students have good access to tutors.

On an international scale, MGIMO placed joint 355^th in the QS World University Rankings® 2019, and looking at the latest rankings by subject, it appears in the global top 100 for politics.

9. Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU)

Heading to the Siberian city of Tomsk, Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) has climbed 10 places in the BRICS ranking to now rank 39^th, making it ninth among the top universities in Russia. Also ranked joint 373^rd in the latest world rankings, TPU achieved a perfect score in the international students category of the BRICS, with 25 percent of its 15,000 students coming from outside Russia. TPU was established in 1896 as Tomsk Technological Institute, making it the oldest technical university in Siberia.

Reflecting its long history and reputation as a leading institution for applied science and technology, TPU appears in the subject rankings for six engineering and science disciplines, with its best score for chemical engineering (in the 201-250 range).

8. National Research University - Higher School of Economics (HSE)

National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), located in Moscow, is up two places to rank 37^th in this year’s BRICS, and was also ranked joint 343^rd in the latest world university rankings. HSE was placed 12^th in the faculty/student ratio indicator, with 7,000 lecturers and researchers and 35,100 students. HSE is the youngest Russian university in this list, having been founded in 1992, but has nonetheless been able to establish itself as a premier university in the country.

Looking at the subject rankings, HSE was included among the world’s best for 13 subjects, including positions in the global top 100 for sociology and politics.

7. Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU)

Staying in Moscow, Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) is ranked joint 33^rd in this year’s BRICS and joint 299^th in the world. It earns a perfect score of 100 in the faculty/student ratio indicator, as well as coming 10^th for employer reputation. BMSTU was established in 1830 and has since gained a reputation as a leading center of higher education and research engineering. It is highly active with international activities, with numerous exchange programs for both staff and students, as well as collaborations with partner foreign universities and companies.

BMSTU is ranked among the world’s best for five subjects as of 2018, achieving a position in the top 200 for mechanical engineering.  

6. National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)

National Research Nuclear University, also known as MEPhI, continues to climb in the BRICS ranking, having gone up five places to rank 30^th, overtaking BMSTU in the process to claim sixth place among the top universities in Russia. Originally founded in 1942 as the Moscow Mechanical Institute of Munitions, MEPhI is now a fully global university which has adapted the Bologna Process (a process of standardizing higher education in Europe). And while it already has a perfect score in the international students indicator, MEPhI nonetheless aims to have 21 percent of its students be international by 2020.

Also appearing in the world rankings at joint 329^th*, MEPhI is in the global top 100 of the subject rankings for physics & astronomy, and is also ranked for mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering.

5. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology State University

Next in our look at the 10 top universities in Russia this year is Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology State University (MIPT), which climbed seven places to rank 21^st in BRICS, and also came 312^th in the most recent world university rankings. Established in 1951, MIPT is considered one of the leading institutions in the country for physics and technology. Many of its alumni have gone on to successful careers in science, politics, business, cosmology, and its faculty includes a number of leading Russian scientists.

MIPT is internationally ranked for six subjects, with its highest rank for physics & astronomy (in the top 100).

4. Tomsk State University (TSU)

Heading back to Siberia, Tomsk State University (TSU) climbed seven places to rank 19^th in this year’s QS BRICS ranking, with perfect scores for both the faculty/student ratio indicator and the international students indicator. Also ranked joint 277^th in the world, TSU was founded in 1878 as the Siberian Imperial University, and it now hosts about 18,000 students, 2,000 of whom are from outside Russia. There are English-taught programs available at both bachelor’s and master’s level in subjects such as linguistics, computer science, management and physics.

TSU is in the subject rankings for five fields, with spots in the top 250 for physics & astronomy and modern languages.   

3. Novosibirsk State University

Novosibirsk State University (NSU) is ranked 12^th in this year’s BRICS and joint 244^th in the world, and achieves its strongest score for the international students indicator. Students at NSU benefit from the university’s location at the world-leading science center of Akademgorodok (‘academic town’), which is the educational and scientific center of Siberia, and home to numerous research institutes and facilities. There are English-taught programs available at master’s and PhD level, but students choosing to study in Russian can improve their knowledge with NSU’s intensive 12-week summer school.

Novosibirsk State University is ranked among the world’s best for 10 subjects, with a spot in the global top 100 for physics & astronomy.  

2. Saint-Petersburg State University

Saint-Petersburg State University (SPbU) continues to climb in the BRICS ranking this year, now placed 11^th and overtaking Novosibirsk State University as second among the top universities in Russia. Also ranked 235^th in the world, SPbU is the oldest university in Russia, having been founded in 1724 by Peter the Great. Around 400 interdisciplinary programs and 1,000 non-degree programs are available, mostly in Russian, although some English-taught master’s programs are available. Notable alumni of the university include nine Nobel Prize winners and other notable figures, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Of the 15 subjects Saint-Petersburg State University is internationally ranked for, it appears in the global top 100 for three: modern languages, mathematics and linguistics.

1. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) holds on to the top spot among the top universities in Russia, down one place to rank sixth in this year’s BRICS.  Also ranked 90^th in the most recent world university rankings, MSU’s main building is the tallest educational building in the world, and the university is also home to one of the largest library systems in Russia, with around 10 million books, 2.5 million of which are in foreign languages.

Lomonosov Moscow State University was ranked among the world’s best for 28 of the 48 fields covered in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, including positions in the top 50 for linguistics, physics, mathematics, modern languages, hospitality & leisure management and computer science.

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*Although National Research Nuclear University is ranked lower than Bauman Moscow State Technical University in the QS World University Rankings®, it ranks higher in the BRICS ranking because of the differing methodologies used to compile the rankings. Find out more here.  

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The QS BRICS University Rankings 2019, released today, features 13 top South African universities, ranked based on a methodology which assesses each institution’s employer and academic reputations, research impacts, percentage of international students and more. The BRICS ranking, which was first launched in 2013, aims to highlight the leading universities in the five major emerging economies of the BRICS countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Read on as we count down the 10 highest-ranked South African universities in 2019 according to the new BRICS ranking, with further information on how each institution performed in the latest QS World University Rankings®. 

10. University of the Free State

Ranked 180^th in the QS Brics University Rankings this year, the University of the Free State (UFS) earned its strongest score in the indicator measuring the percentage of international students (ranked 59^th). UFS is one of the oldest South African universities, having been founded in 1904 as Grey College. It’s mainly located in Bloemfontein, the state capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa, but also operates a satellite campus in Qwaqwa.

9. North-West University

North-West University (NWU) climbed from 181-190 to joint 170^th place in this year’s BRICS, and was also featured in the 801-1000 range of the latest QS World University Rankings®. Formed by the 2004 merger of two previous universities as part of the South African government’s plan to transform higher education, NWU is now one of the largest universities in the country, hosting more than 68,300 students.

8. University of the Western Cape

Up five places to rank joint 139^th, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) earned its best scores for citations per faculty member (a measure of research impact) and percentage of international faculty members. UWC is noted for its significant role in the fight against racial discrimination in South Africa, having originally been founded for black students only during the apartheid period.

7. Rhodes University

Heading to the Eastern Cape province for the next in our look at the top universities in South Africa, Rhodes University climbed 14 places to rank 124^th in the BRICS rankings this year, and was also featured at 801-1000 in the World University Rankings. Rhodes was established in 1904 and has a small student population of 8,200, 18 percent of whom are from outside South Africa, giving it the country’s strongest score in the international students indicator. 

6. University of KwaZulu-Natal

One of the younger South African universities, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is ranked 85^th in BRICS in 2019 and 751-800 in the World University Rankings. UKZN was founded in 2004 from the merger of the University of Natal, which dated back to 1910, and the University of Durban-Westville, and now has more than 46,500 students enrolled on five campuses throughout the province of the same name.

5. University of Johannesburg

Another of the top universities in South Africa to have been formed by a merger, the University of Johannesburg is ranked 61^st in this year’s BRICS and 551-600 in the World University Rankings. It earned a very high score (ninth in the ranking) for the percentage of international faculty members indicator, and was also ranked in the top 50 in BRICS for the international students indicator, with more than 3,000 of its 50,000 students coming from outside South Africa.

4. Stellenbosch University

Heading back to the Western Cape Province, Stellenbosch University, located in the small town of the same name, is ranked 51^st in BRICS and joint 405^th in the world, making it fourth among the top universities in South Africa. Stellenbosch is one of the oldest institutions in the country, having been established in 1918 (though it has roots as far back as 1864). It now has more than 29,000 students and five campuses, and has cemented a reputation as a world-class institution. 

3. University of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria (UP) is down slightly to rank 45^th in BRICS, but is nonetheless ranked third in the country, as well as 561-570 in the world. One of the largest and oldest South African universities (founded in 1908), UP earned top-20 scores for two of the BRICS indicators: employer reputation and international faculty. It offers more than 1,800 programs in Afrikaans and English, and operates seven campuses as well as other sites such as the Pretoria Academic Hospital.

2. University of the Witwatersrand

Ranked 40^th in BRICS and joint 381^st in the world, the University of the Witwatersrand, known as Wits University or simply Wits for short, is located on multiple campuses in northern Johannesburg. It’s internationally recognized as a leading institution for paleo sciences, boasting the largest fossil collections in the Southern hemisphere. It also has major roots in the mining industry, and came 15^th in the most recent QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018 for mineral & mining engineering.

1. University of Cape Town

Consistently ranked number one among the top universities in South Africa, the University of Cape Town (UCT) is placed 22^nd in the BRICS rankings and joint 200^th in the world, earning scores in the top 15 of BRICS for both the employer and academic reputation indicators. UCT is the oldest university in the country, dating back to 1829 when it was founded as the South African College. During its long history it has played a key role in the opposition against apartheid, and now has one of the most diverse student communities in South Africa. Looking at the subject rankings, the University of Cape Town is particularly prestigious for development studies, sports-related subjects and geography, coming in the global top 50 for all three.

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Released today, the QS BRICS University Rankings 2019 feature the top universities and academic institutions from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Chinese universities again dominate this year, with Tsinghua University at the top of the ranking. Seven of the top 10 universities this year are based in mainland China.

Elsewhere, Lomonosov Moscow State University is the best institution in Russia, ranked sixth overall, while the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) is the best in India.

Brazil’s highest-ranked university is in 14^th place: Universidade de São Paulo scores a perfect 100 for both academic and employer reputation, one of six universities to do so in this year’s ranking. More information about the methodology can be found here.

South African universities continue to lag behind their BRICS counterparts with only 13 institutions featuring in this year’s ranking. The highest-ranked of these is the University of Cape Town in 22^nd.

For more detailed information about this year’s ranking, download our PDF supplement.

Want to know more about Chinese or Indian universities?

This year, for the first time ever, we’ve also published the QS University Rankings by Location, allowing readers to easily compare the top universities in some of the most popular study destinations included in our regional rankings.

Separate tables for universities and institutions from both mainland China and India can be viewed, while later this month we’ll also be releasing separate tables for Japan, South Korea and Mexico.