QS University Rankings: Latin America 2012

The 2015 results of the QS University Rankings: Latin America are out now. Click here to view the top 10.

When QS University Rankings: Latin America was published for the first time in 2011, this generated a huge amount of interest, both within the region and further afield.

This is perhaps unsurprising. Latin America is a hugely dynamic, fast-growing continent, that has recently identified higher education as key to its development, yet in global rankings it has mostly been conspicuous by its absence.

QS University Rankings: Latin America – produced after extensive consultation with universities throughout Latin America – provides a detailed comparison of the performance of the region’s universities.

Extended reach

This year’s rankings are extended to incorporate 250 institutions, 50 more than last year. A second year’s survey results have provided a richer and more inclusive data pool, extending the scope of the useful information we are able to offer.

Universities have therefore been ranked individually from 1-150, then in groups of ten from 151-200, with a single group from 201-250. This incremental increase in the size of the groupings reflects the entirely logical gap in relative levels of data at the top and bottom of the table.

It enables us to avoid a situation in which we are making a fine-comb distinction based on overall scores that are not sufficiently varied to warrant such a high level of differentiation.

Remarkable stability

The rankings are remarkable for their stability, a pleasing indication of the validity of the measures employed.

The performance of smaller institutions at an earlier stage of their development, with less experience in collecting data and a less consistent and established research output, is far more likely to significantly change in a short space of time than that of an established research-intensive institution at the top of the table.

Yet even further down the table, volatility levels remain relatively low. The top 200 varies by just seven universities from that of 2011, though direct comparisons from 100-200 cannot be drawn due to the larger groupings that were employed in 2011.

As in 2011, the rankings adopt the principles of the QS World University Rankings, augmented with measures of particular regional application.

Exciting period

Academic and employer reputation surveys remain the backbone of our approach, in combination with data on research productivity and citations, student/faculty ratio, the proportion of staff with a PhD, and web presence.

It is an exciting period for Latin American universities, with the growth in scientific research, increased for higher education, increased student mobility and the rise of private universities all accelerating the pace of change.

This year’s rankings help further our understanding of the comparative performance of universities throughout the region.

They also shine a light on pockets of development that have previously been beyond the scope of international rankings.