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Captain’s Blog

The place to be for a PhD

I’m won’t be applying for a PhD any time soon, but if I were, my shortlonglist would probably look a bit like this.

Blackjack and hookers meme
I’m gonna make my own university ranking, with blackjack and hookers!

Prestige plays a major role in academia. It’s why researchers dream of publishing their work in prestigious journals, like Nature and Science. It’s why you can find Harvard University sweaters all over the world, even though Harvard doesn’t actually have that many students. And it’s why people get all giddy about an opportunity to work or study at Oxford, even though there are plenty of other institutions that may have more to offer.

A decent chunk of a university’s prestige comes from rankings, of which there are many. .

While prestige can afford you certain privileges, it does not play that much of a role in your day-to-day life as a graduate student. Rankings tend to be based on research output and recognition thereof, but you’re likely more concerned about things like quality of education, facilities, student life, affordability, the likelihood that your supervisor will be a Machiavellian psychopath, or the university’s primary topics of research.

Most rankings are therefore kind of useless for students.

I’m going to exacerbate this problem by introducing my own ranking, the Toilet Paper Rankings, which is solely based on the number of summarised papers in which an organisation, which is usually – but not always – a university, is mentioned as an affiliation. The list is updated daily, although it usually only changes once a week, when I publish a new paper summary.

Toilet Paper Rankings

Link
RankCountryOrganisationPoints
1–2usCarnegie Mellon University8
1–2usMicrosoft8
3usNorth Carolina State University7
4–5nlDelft University of Technology5
4–5chUniversity of Zurich5
6–7ilThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem4
6–7deUniversity of Stuttgart4
8–19ilBen-Gurion University of the Negev3
8–19seChalmers University of Technology3
8–19nlEindhoven University of Technology3
8–19usGoogle3
8–19usIBM Corporation3
8–19auMonash University3
8–19caQueen’s University3
8–19fiTampere University3
8–19chUniversità della Svizzera italiana3
8–19chUniversity of Bern3
8–19fiUniversity of Oulu3
8–19gbgb-engUniversity of Oxford3
20–54caConcordia University2
20–54usCornell University2
20–54auCurtin University2
20–54jpKyushu University2
20–54seLund University2
20–54usNorthern Arizona University2
20–54nlOpen University of the Netherlands2
20–54cnPeking University2
20–54usPivotal2
20–54caPolytechnique Montréal2
20–54sgSingapore Management University2
20–54usUC Berkeley2
20–54usUC Davis2
20–54gbgb-engUniversity College London2
20–54nlUniversity of Amsterdam2
20–54nzUniversity of Auckland2
20–54caUniversity of British Columbia2
20–54caUniversity of Calgary2
20–54usUniversity of Chicago2
20–54seUniversity of Gothenburg2
20–54nlUniversity of Groningen2
20–54fiUniversity of Helsinki2
20–54fiUniversity of Jyväskylä2
20–54luUniversity of Luxembourg2
20–54usUniversity of Maryland2
20–54noUniversity of Oslo2
20–54deUniversity of Passau2
20–54itUniversity of Salerno2
20–54gbgb-engUniversity of Sheffield2
20–54usUniversity of Southern California2
20–54caUniversity of Victoria2
20–54usUniversity of Washington2
20–54nlVrije Universiteit Amsterdam2
20–54caYork University2
20–54chZurich University of Applied Sciences2
55–251dkAalborg University1
55–251fiAalto University1
55–251dkAarhus University1
55–251usAllegheny College1
55–251usAugusta University1
55–251nlAvans University of Applied Sciences1
55–251cnBaidu, Inc.1
55–251ilBar-Ilan University1
55–251eses-ctBarcelona Supercomputing Center1
55–251deBauhaus-Universität Weimar1
55–251cnBeijing Institute of Technology1
55–251trBilkent University1
55–251seBlekinge Institute of Technology1
55–251usBoeing Research & Technology Europe1
55–251gbBritish Geological Survey1
55–251usBroadPath1
55–251usCalifornia Institute of Technology1
55–251usCalifornia Polytechnic State University1
55–251seCarmenta Geospatial Technologies1
55–251usClarkson University1
55–251usClemson University1
55–251krClova AI Research1
55–251itCNR-ISTI1
55–251frCNRS1
55–251seCodeScene1
55–251usColumbia Basin College1
55–251usColumbia University1
55–251noConceptos Consulting1
55–251trCumhuriyet University1
55–251unDon’t Forget the Bubbles1
55–251usDrexel University1
55–251gbgb-engDurham University1
55–251deEberhard Karls Universität Tübingen1
55–251nlExact International Development1
55–251usFacebook1
55–251brFederal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte1
55–251brFederal University of Amazonas1
55–251brFederal University of Bahia1
55–251brFederal University of Minas Gerais1
55–251brFederal University of Pará1
55–251brFederal University of Rio Grande do Norte1
55–251brFederal University of Sergipe1
55–251atFHV Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences1
55–251deFraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering1
55–251itFree University of Bozen-Bolzano1
55–251usGeorge Fox University1
55–251usGeorge Mason University1
55–251usGeorgia Institute of Technologyy1
55–251deHarz University of Applied Sciences1
55–251gbgb-engImperial College London1
55–251frInria1
55–251idInstitut Teknologi Bandung1
55–251usIowa State University1
55–251irIran Telecommunication Research Center1
55–251frIRISA1
55–251itItalian National Research Council1
55–251usJane Street Capital1
55–251nlJeronimus Academy of Data Science1
55–251usJet Propulsion Laboratory1
55–251czJetBrains Research1
55–251nlJheronimus Academy of Data Science1
55–251usJohns Hopkins University1
55–251krKAIST1
55–251usKansas State University1
55–251usKennesaw State University1
55–251usKent State University1
55–251gbgb-engKing’s College London1
55–251krKorea Press Foundation1
55–251seKTH Royal Institute of Technology1
55–251auLady Cilento Children’s Hospital1
55–251xxLeadership Footprint1
55–251deLeibniz Institute for Neurobiology1
55–251gbgb-engLeicester Royal Infirmary1
55–251nlLeiden University1
55–251usLoyola College1
55–251usMassachusetts Institute of Technology1
55–251caMcGill University1
55–251usMeta1
55–251esMeta41
55–251deMETOP GmbH1
55–251usMontclair State University1
55–251auMurdoch University1
55–251usNetflix1
55–251fiNokia Bell Labs1
55–251usNortheastern University1
55–251usNorthwestern University1
55–251noNorwegian University of Science and Technology1
55–251noNTNU1
55–251usOakland University1
55–251seÖrebro University1
55–251usOregon State University1
55–251noØstfold University College1
55–251deOtto von Guericke University Magdeburg1
55–251dePaderborn University1
55–251dePhilipps University Marburg1
55–251ptPolytechnic Institute of Tomar1
55–251caPolytechnique Montreal1
55–251nlRadboud University1
55–251gbRolls-Royce plc1
55–251deSaarland University1
55–251usSauce Labs1
55–251lvSEB Life & Pension Holding AB Riga Branch1
55–251cnShanghai Jiao Tong University1
55–251noSimula Research Laboratory1
55–251noSINTEF1
55–251nlSoftware Improvement Group1
55–251usStanford University1
55–251usStevens Institute1
55–251auSwinburne University of Technology1
55–251chSwisscom1
55–251auSydney Children’s Hospital1
55–251deTechnische Universität München1
55–251esTecnalia1
55–251usTexas A&M University1
55–251usThe College of William and Mary1
55–251cncn-hkThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology1
55–251nlThe Liberators1
55–251gbgb-engThe Open University1
55–251gbgb-engThe Royal London Hospital1
55–251usThe University of New Mexico1
55–251nlTilburg University1
55–251itU-Hopper1
55–251mxUAM Iztapalapa1
55–251saUmm Al-Qura University1
55–251coUniversidad de los Andes1
55–251esUniversidad Rey Juan Carlos1
55–251brUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco1
55–251brUniversidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná1
55–251chUniversità della Svizzera italiana1
55–251esUniversity Carlos III of Madrid1
55–251ieUniversity College Cork1
55–251beUniversity College Ghent1
55–251auUniversity of Adelaide1
55–251usUniversity of Alabama1
55–251caUniversity of Alberta1
55–251chUniversity of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland1
55–251usUniversity of Arizona1
55–251usUniversity of Arkansas1
55–251eses-ctUniversity of Barcelona1
55–251chUniversity of Basel1
55–251itUniversity of Bologna1
55–251brUniversity of Brasília1
55–251usUniversity of California, Los Angeles1
55–251usUniversity of California, Santa Cruz1
55–251gbgb-engUniversity of Cambridge1
55–251esUniversity of Castilla-La Mancha1
55–251esUniversity of Castilla–La Mancha1
55–251gbgb-engUniversity of Central Lancashire1
55–251dkUniversity of Copenhagen1
55–251deUniversity of Duisburg-Essen1
55–251gbgb-engUniversity of East Anglia1
55–251itUniversity of Florence1
55–251deUniversity of Freiburg1
55–251chUniversity of Geneva1
55–251itUniversity of Genoa1
55–251usUniversity of Georgia1
55–251deUniversity of Giessen1
55–251usUniversity of Hawai‘i1
55–251usUniversity of Illinois1
55–251atUniversity of Klagenfurt1
55–251gbgb-engUniversity of Leeds1
55–251gbgb-engUniversity of Leicester1
55–251frUniversity of Lorraine1
55–251deUniversity of Magdeburg1
55–251caUniversity of Manitoba1
55–251usUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst1
55–251auUniversity of Melbourne Medical School1
55–251usUniversity of Miami1
55–251itUniversity of Milano-Bicocca1
55–251itUniversity of Molise1
55–251beUniversity of Mons1
55–251esUniversity of Murcia1
55–251auUniversity of New South Wales1
55–251auUniversity of Newcastle1
55–251usUniversity of Oregon1
55–251deUniversity of Potsdam1
55–251auUniversity of Queensland1
55–251frUniversity of Rennes 11
55–251itUniversity of Sannio1
55–251eses-gaUniversity of Santiago de Compostela1
55–251caUniversity of Saskatchewan1
55–251cnUniversity of Science and Technology of China1
55–251zaUniversity of Stellenbosch Business School1
55–251auUniversity of Technology Sydney1
55–251usUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee1
55–251usVanderbilt University1
55–251usVassar College1
55–251fiVincit1
55–251beVrije Universiteit Brussel1
55–251usWayne State University1
55–251usWesleyan University1
55–251noWesterdals ACT1
55–251auWestern Hospital Footscray1
55–251usWestern Michigan University1
55–251usWestern Washington University1
55–251nzWhitireia Polytechnic1
55–251cnWuhan University1