Chuniversiteit.nl
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
RankCountryInstitutionCount
1–2usCarnegie Mellon University7
1–2usMicrosoft7
3usNorth Carolina State University6
4–5ilThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem4
4–5chUniversity of Zurich4
6–11seChalmers University of Technology3
6–11nlDelft University of Technology3
6–11usIBM Corporation3
6–11auMonash University3
6–11chUniversità della Svizzera italiana3
6–11deUniversity of Stuttgart3
12–40ilBen-Gurion University of the Negev2
12–40auCurtin University2
12–40nlEindhoven University of Technology2
12–40usGoogle2
12–40jpKyushu University2
12–40nlOpen University of the Netherlands2
12–40usPivotal2
12–40caPolytechnique Montréal2
12–40caQueen’s University2
12–40sgSingapore Management University2
12–40fiTampere University2
12–40gbgb-engUniversity College London2
12–40nzUniversity of Auckland2
12–40chUniversity of Bern2
12–40caUniversity of British Columbia2
12–40caUniversity of Calgary2
12–40usUniversity of Chicago2
12–40seUniversity of Gothenburg2
12–40nlUniversity of Groningen2
12–40luUniversity of Luxembourg2
12–40usUniversity of Maryland2
12–40noUniversity of Oslo2
12–40fiUniversity of Oulu2
12–40deUniversity of Passau2
12–40usUniversity of Southern California2
12–40caUniversity of Victoria2
12–40usUniversity of Washington2
12–40nlVrije Universiteit Amsterdam2
12–40chZurich University of Applied Sciences2
41–185fiAalto University1
41–185usAugusta University1
41–185nlAvans University of Applied Sciences1
41–185cnBaidu, Inc.1
41–185eses-ctBarcelona Supercomputing Center1
41–185usBoeing Research & Technology Europe1
41–185gbBritish Geological Survey1
41–185usBroadPath1
41–185usCalifornia Institute of Technology1
41–185usCalifornia Polytechnic State University1
41–185seCarmenta Geospatial Technologies1
41–185usClarkson University1
41–185usClemson University1
41–185krClova AI Research1
41–185itCNR-ISTI1
41–185seCodeScene1
41–185usColumbia Basin College1
41–185usColumbia University1
41–185noConceptos Consulting1
41–185usDrexel University1
41–185gbgb-engDurham University1
41–185nlExact International Development1
41–185usFacebook1
41–185brFederal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte1
41–185brFederal University of Bahia1
41–185brFederal University of Minas Gerais1
41–185brFederal University of Pará1
41–185brFederal University of Rio Grande do Norte1
41–185brFederal University of Sergipe1
41–185deFraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering1
41–185usGeorge Fox University1
41–185usHarvard Business School1
41–185deHarz University of Applied Sciences1
41–185gbgb-engImperial College London1
41–185usIowa State University1
41–185irIran Telecommunication Research Center1
41–185itItalian National Research Council1
41–185usJane Street Capital1
41–185nlJeronimus Academy of Data Science1
41–185usJet Propulsion Laboratory1
41–185usJohns Hopkins University1
41–185krKAIST1
41–185usKansas State University1
41–185usKennesaw State University1
41–185usKent State University1
41–185gbgb-engKing’s College London1
41–185krKorea Press Foundation1
41–185xxLeadership Footprint1
41–185deLeibniz Institute for Neurobiology1
41–185nlLeiden University1
41–185usLoyola College1
41–185seLund University1
41–185caMcGill University1
41–185esMeta41
41–185deMETOP GmbH1
41–185usMontclair State University1
41–185auMurdoch University1
41–185usNetflix1
41–185fiNokia Bell Labs1
41–185usNorthern Arizona University1
41–185usNorthwestern University1
41–185noNorwegian University of Science and Technology1
41–185usOakland University1
41–185seÖrebro University1
41–185usOregon State University1
41–185noØstfold University College1
41–185deOtto von Guericke University Magdeburg1
41–185dePaderborn University1
41–185cnPeking University1
41–185dePhilipps University Marburg1
41–185ptPolytechnic Institute of Tomar1
41–185gbRolls-Royce plc1
41–185lvSEB Life & Pension Holding AB Riga Branch1
41–185cnShanghai Jiao Tong University1
41–185noSimula Research Laboratory1
41–185noSINTEF1
41–185nlSoftware Improvement Group1
41–185usStevens Institute1
41–185auSwinburne University of Technology1
41–185chSwisscom1
41–185deTechnische Universität München1
41–185esTecnalia1
41–185usTexas A&M University1
41–185usThe College of William and Mary1
41–185cncn-hkThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology1
41–185usThe University of New Mexico1
41–185nlTilburg University1
41–185mxUAM Iztapalapa1
41–185usUC Berkeley1
41–185usUC Davis1
41–185saUmm Al-Qura University1
41–185coUniversidad de los Andes1
41–185esUniversidad Rey Juan Carlos1
41–185brUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco1
41–185chUniversità della Svizzera italiana1
41–185beUniversity College Ghent1
41–185auUniversity of Adelaide1
41–185usUniversity of Alabama1
41–185caUniversity of Alberta1
41–185nlUniversity of Amsterdam1
41–185chUniversity of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland1
41–185usUniversity of Arizona1
41–185usUniversity of Arkansas1
41–185eses-ctUniversity of Barcelona1
41–185chUniversity of Basel1
41–185brUniversity of Brasília1
41–185usUniversity of California, Los Angeles1
41–185esUniversity of Castilla–La Mancha1
41–185dkUniversity of Copenhagen1
41–185deUniversity of Duisburg-Essen1
41–185gbgb-engUniversity of East Anglia1
41–185itUniversity of Florence1
41–185deUniversity of Freiburg1
41–185usUniversity of Georgia1
41–185deUniversity of Giessen1
41–185usUniversity of Hawai‘i1
41–185fiUniversity of Helsinki1
41–185fiUniversity of Jyväskylä1
41–185frUniversity of Lorraine1
41–185deUniversity of Magdeburg1
41–185caUniversity of Manitoba1
41–185usUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst1
41–185usUniversity of Miami1
41–185itUniversity of Molise1
41–185esUniversity of Murcia1
41–185auUniversity of Newcastle1
41–185usUniversity of Oregon1
41–185gbgb-engUniversity of Oxford1
41–185deUniversity of Potsdam1
41–185itUniversity of Salerno1
41–185itUniversity of Sannio1
41–185caUniversity of Saskatchewan1
41–185cnUniversity of Science and Technology of China1
41–185gbgb-engUniversity of Sheffield1
41–185zaUniversity of Stellenbosch Business School1
41–185auUniversity of Technology Sydney1
41–185usUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee1
41–185usVassar College1
41–185fiVincit1
41–185usWayne State University1
41–185usWesleyan University1
41–185noWesterdals ACT1
41–185usWestern Michigan University1
41–185cnWuhan University1
41–185caYork University1