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Captain’s Blog

The place to be for a PhD

Updated

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
4–7nlDelft University of Technology4
4–7ilThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem4
4–7deUniversity of Stuttgart4
4–7chUniversity of Zurich4
8–17ilBen-Gurion University of the Negev3
8–17seChalmers University of Technology3
8–17nlEindhoven University of Technology3
8–17usIBM Corporation3
8–17auMonash University3
8–17caQueen’s University3
8–17fiTampere University3
8–17chUniversità della Svizzera italiana3
8–17fiUniversity of Oulu3
8–17gbgb-engUniversity of Oxford3
18–52caConcordia University2
18–52usCornell University2
18–52auCurtin University2
18–52usGoogle2
18–52jpKyushu University2
18–52seLund University2
18–52usNorthern Arizona University2
18–52nlOpen University of the Netherlands2
18–52cnPeking University2
18–52usPivotal2
18–52caPolytechnique Montréal2
18–52sgSingapore Management University2
18–52usUC Berkeley2
18–52gbgb-engUniversity College London2
18–52nzUniversity of Auckland2
18–52chUniversity of Bern2
18–52caUniversity of British Columbia2
18–52caUniversity of Calgary2
18–52usUniversity of Chicago2
18–52seUniversity of Gothenburg2
18–52nlUniversity of Groningen2
18–52fiUniversity of Helsinki2
18–52fiUniversity of Jyväskylä2
18–52luUniversity of Luxembourg2
18–52usUniversity of Maryland2
18–52noUniversity of Oslo2
18–52deUniversity of Passau2
18–52itUniversity of Salerno2
18–52gbgb-engUniversity of Sheffield2
18–52usUniversity of Southern California2
18–52caUniversity of Victoria2
18–52usUniversity of Washington2
18–52nlVrije Universiteit Amsterdam2
18–52caYork University2
18–52chZurich University of Applied Sciences2
53–243dkAalborg University1
53–243fiAalto University1
53–243dkAarhus University1
53–243usAllegheny College1
53–243usAugusta University1
53–243nlAvans University of Applied Sciences1
53–243cnBaidu, Inc.1
53–243ilBar-Ilan University1
53–243eses-ctBarcelona Supercomputing Center1
53–243deBauhaus-Universität Weimar1
53–243cnBeijing Institute of Technology1
53–243trBilkent University1
53–243seBlekinge Institute of Technology1
53–243usBoeing Research & Technology Europe1
53–243gbBritish Geological Survey1
53–243usBroadPath1
53–243usCalifornia Institute of Technology1
53–243usCalifornia Polytechnic State University1
53–243seCarmenta Geospatial Technologies1
53–243usClarkson University1
53–243usClemson University1
53–243krClova AI Research1
53–243itCNR-ISTI1
53–243frCNRS1
53–243seCodeScene1
53–243usColumbia Basin College1
53–243usColumbia University1
53–243noConceptos Consulting1
53–243trCumhuriyet University1
53–243unDon’t Forget the Bubbles1
53–243usDrexel University1
53–243gbgb-engDurham University1
53–243deEberhard Karls Universität Tübingen1
53–243nlExact International Development1
53–243usFacebook1
53–243brFederal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte1
53–243brFederal University of Amazonas1
53–243brFederal University of Bahia1
53–243brFederal University of Minas Gerais1
53–243brFederal University of Pará1
53–243brFederal University of Rio Grande do Norte1
53–243brFederal University of Sergipe1
53–243atFHV Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences1
53–243deFraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering1
53–243itFree University of Bozen-Bolzano1
53–243usGeorge Fox University1
53–243usGeorge Mason University1
53–243usGeorgia Institute of Technologyy1
53–243deHarz University of Applied Sciences1
53–243gbgb-engImperial College London1
53–243frInria1
53–243idInstitut Teknologi Bandung1
53–243usIowa State University1
53–243irIran Telecommunication Research Center1
53–243frIRISA1
53–243itItalian National Research Council1
53–243usJane Street Capital1
53–243nlJeronimus Academy of Data Science1
53–243usJet Propulsion Laboratory1
53–243czJetBrains Research1
53–243nlJheronimus Academy of Data Science1
53–243usJohns Hopkins University1
53–243krKAIST1
53–243usKansas State University1
53–243usKennesaw State University1
53–243usKent State University1
53–243gbgb-engKing’s College London1
53–243krKorea Press Foundation1
53–243auLady Cilento Children’s Hospital1
53–243xxLeadership Footprint1
53–243deLeibniz Institute for Neurobiology1
53–243gbgb-engLeicester Royal Infirmary1
53–243nlLeiden University1
53–243usLoyola College1
53–243caMcGill University1
53–243esMeta41
53–243deMETOP GmbH1
53–243usMontclair State University1
53–243auMurdoch University1
53–243usNetflix1
53–243fiNokia Bell Labs1
53–243usNortheastern University1
53–243usNorthwestern University1
53–243noNorwegian University of Science and Technology1
53–243noNTNU1
53–243usOakland University1
53–243seÖrebro University1
53–243usOregon State University1
53–243noØstfold University College1
53–243deOtto von Guericke University Magdeburg1
53–243dePaderborn University1
53–243dePhilipps University Marburg1
53–243ptPolytechnic Institute of Tomar1
53–243caPolytechnique Montreal1
53–243nlRadboud University1
53–243gbRolls-Royce plc1
53–243deSaarland University1
53–243usSauce Labs1
53–243lvSEB Life & Pension Holding AB Riga Branch1
53–243cnShanghai Jiao Tong University1
53–243noSimula Research Laboratory1
53–243noSINTEF1
53–243nlSoftware Improvement Group1
53–243usStanford University1
53–243usStevens Institute1
53–243auSwinburne University of Technology1
53–243chSwisscom1
53–243auSydney Children’s Hospital1
53–243deTechnische Universität München1
53–243esTecnalia1
53–243usTexas A&M University1
53–243usThe College of William and Mary1
53–243cncn-hkThe Hong Kong University of Science and Technology1
53–243nlThe Liberators1
53–243gbgb-engThe Open University1
53–243gbgb-engThe Royal London Hospital1
53–243usThe University of New Mexico1
53–243nlTilburg University1
53–243itU-Hopper1
53–243mxUAM Iztapalapa1
53–243usUC Davis1
53–243saUmm Al-Qura University1
53–243coUniversidad de los Andes1
53–243esUniversidad Rey Juan Carlos1
53–243brUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco1
53–243brUniversidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná1
53–243chUniversità della Svizzera italiana1
53–243esUniversity Carlos III of Madrid1
53–243ieUniversity College Cork1
53–243beUniversity College Ghent1
53–243auUniversity of Adelaide1
53–243usUniversity of Alabama1
53–243caUniversity of Alberta1
53–243nlUniversity of Amsterdam1
53–243chUniversity of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland1
53–243usUniversity of Arizona1
53–243usUniversity of Arkansas1
53–243eses-ctUniversity of Barcelona1
53–243chUniversity of Basel1
53–243brUniversity of Brasília1
53–243usUniversity of California, Los Angeles1
53–243usUniversity of California, Santa Cruz1
53–243gbgb-engUniversity of Cambridge1
53–243esUniversity of Castilla-La Mancha1
53–243esUniversity of Castilla–La Mancha1
53–243gbgb-engUniversity of Central Lancashire1
53–243dkUniversity of Copenhagen1
53–243deUniversity of Duisburg-Essen1
53–243gbgb-engUniversity of East Anglia1
53–243itUniversity of Florence1
53–243deUniversity of Freiburg1
53–243itUniversity of Genoa1
53–243usUniversity of Georgia1
53–243deUniversity of Giessen1
53–243usUniversity of Hawai‘i1
53–243usUniversity of Illinois1
53–243gbgb-engUniversity of Leeds1
53–243gbgb-engUniversity of Leicester1
53–243frUniversity of Lorraine1
53–243deUniversity of Magdeburg1
53–243caUniversity of Manitoba1
53–243usUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst1
53–243auUniversity of Melbourne Medical School1
53–243usUniversity of Miami1
53–243itUniversity of Molise1
53–243beUniversity of Mons1
53–243esUniversity of Murcia1
53–243auUniversity of New South Wales1
53–243auUniversity of Newcastle1
53–243usUniversity of Oregon1
53–243deUniversity of Potsdam1
53–243auUniversity of Queensland1
53–243frUniversity of Rennes 11
53–243itUniversity of Sannio1
53–243eses-gaUniversity of Santiago de Compostela1
53–243caUniversity of Saskatchewan1
53–243cnUniversity of Science and Technology of China1
53–243zaUniversity of Stellenbosch Business School1
53–243auUniversity of Technology Sydney1
53–243usUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee1
53–243usVassar College1
53–243fiVincit1
53–243beVrije Universiteit Brussel1
53–243usWayne State University1
53–243usWesleyan University1
53–243noWesterdals ACT1
53–243auWestern Hospital Footscray1
53–243usWestern Michigan University1
53–243usWestern Washington University1
53–243nzWhitireia Polytechnic1
53–243cnWuhan University1

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