Top Universities for Mathematics in 2015

Discover the top mathematics schools based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.

Calling all aspiring mathematicians! If you’re planning on going to university to study mathematics and want to study at a world-leading institution, look no further…

Here you’ll find an overview of the top math schools worldwide, spanning Europe, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East, based on the latest release of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Featuring 400 of the world’s top universities for mathematics, the ranking is based on global surveys of academics and employers, alongside data on research citations (find out more here).

See below for a rundown of the global top 10 universities for mathematics, followed by an overview of the leading schools in each region. For the full interactive ranking table, click here.

Top 10 Universities for Mathematics in the World Based on the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015
Rank	Name of Institution	Location
1	Harvard University	United States
2	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom
3	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
4	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	United States
5	Stanford University	United States
6	University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	United States
7	Princeton University	United States
8	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	United States
9	ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)	Switzerland
10	University of Chicago	United States
See the full math school ranking >

 

Top universities for mathematics in the US and Canada

As is usual, the US claims the largest share of entrants in the ranking, with 73 of the 400 universities featured. Of these, 32 are ranked within the top 100 worldwide, including 22 in the top 50. Outside of the top 10 (listed above), these are New York University (NYU, 41^st in the QS World University Rankings® 2014/15), the University of Michigan (23^rd in the world rankings), the California Institute of Technology (Caltech, 8^th in the world rankings), Columbia University (14^th in the world rankings), the University of Texas at Austin (79^th in the world rankings), Yale University (10^th in the world rankings), Carnegie Mellon University (65^th in the world rankings), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech, 107^th in the world rankings), the University of California, San Diego (UCSD, 59^th in the world rankings),  Cornell University (19^th in the world rankings), University of Wisconsin-Madison (41^st in the world rankings), Northwestern University (34^th in the world rankings), the University of Pennsylvania (13^th in the world rankings), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (63^rd in the world rankings) and Brown University (52^nd in the world rankings).

Head north into Canada, and you’ll find another 19 of the world’s leading math schools. Six are within the top 100, and three feature in the top 50: the University of Toronto (20^th in the world rankings), the University of Waterloo (169^th in the world rankings) and the University of British Colombia (43^rd in the world rankings).

Learn more about studying in the US and Canada with our country guides.

Top universities for mathematics in Europe

Some 33 of the world’s 400 top universities for mathematics are claimed by the UK, more than any other country in Europe. In addition to the prestigious Oxbridge duo, both in the top 10, also ranked among the world’s top 50 are Imperial College London (2= in the world rankings), the University of Edinburgh (17^th in the world rankings) and the University of Warwick (61^st in the world rankings).

Up next is Germany with 29 universities featured, two of which are within the world’s top 50 for mathematics. These are Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (177^th in the world rankings) and Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin, 192^nd in the world rankings). Of the 20 top mathematics universities in France, there are also two within the top 50. These are Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech (35^th in the world rankings) and Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (ENS Paris, 24^th in the world rankings).

In Italy, meanwhile, there are 17 top math schools. Although none of these make the top 50, Politecnico di Milano (229^th in the world rankings), Sapienza – Università di Roma (202^nd in the world rankings) and Università di Bologna (UNIBO, 182^nd in the world rankings) are all within the top 100 for mathematics.

Of the 12 Spanish institutions featured in this ranking, just one is among the world’s top 100 – Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (173^rd in the world rankings).

The Netherlands, boasting nine entrants in the mathematics ranking, has two within the world’s top 100: Delft University of Technology (86^th in the world rankings) and the University of Amsterdam (50^th in the world rankings). Belgium meanwhile offers six top math schools, including Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven, 82^nd in the world rankings) and the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL, 154^th in the world rankings).

Austria and Switzerland each have five schools in the running, with Switzerland claiming two representatives in the world’s top 50 for mathematics: ETH Zurich in 9^th place (12^th in the world rankings) and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, 17^th in the world rankings).

There are a further 16 top universities for mathematics divided between the Nordic countries, with six in Sweden, four in Denmark and three apiece in Finland and Norway. Of these, three are ranked within the top 100 worldwide: the Swedish KTH, Royal Institute of Technology (110^th in the world rankings), the Danish University of Copenhagen (45^th in the world rankings) and the Finnish University of Helsinki (67^th in the world rankings).

Russia offers five top mathematics universities, including Lomonosov Moscow State University (114^th in the world rankings) in the top 50. And each with three institutions featured are Hungary, Ireland, Poland and Portugal. The top ranked of these is the Polish University of Warsaw (335^th in the world rankings) ranked in the global top 150 for mathematics.

With two representatives each are the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania. Of these, the Czech Charles University (244^th in the world rankings) is the highest ranked, in the 101-150 range. Lastly, Slovenia has one representative in the top 400, which is the University of Ljubljana (501-550 in the world rankings).

To find out about studying across Europe, see our full range of European country guides.

Top universities for mathematics in Australia and New Zealand

With 16 top mathematics universities in Australia and a further five in New Zealand, Oceania is another great region for ambitious mathematics students. While the University of Auckland (92^nd in the world rankings) is New Zealand’s only offering in the top 100, Australia offers five within the world’s top 100. These are Australian National University (ANU, 25^th in the world rankings), the University of Sydney (37^th in the world rankings), the University of Melbourne (33^rd in the world rankings), the University of New South Wales (UNSW, 48^th in the world rankings) and the University of Queensland (UQ, 43^rd in the world rankings).

Find about studying in Australia and New Zealand with our country guides.

Top universities for mathematics in Asia

Of the 29 universities in China featured in the mathematics ranking, Peking University (57^th in the world rankings) in the only one within the world’s top 50. A further three are ranked within the top 100: Fudan University (71^st in the world rankings), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (104^th in the world rankings) and Tsinghua University (47^th in the world rankings).

Across the rest of Asia, Japan offers 12 top mathematics universities, while South Korea has 11. Of these schools, Japan’s University of Tokyo (31= in the world rankings) and Kyoto University (36^th in the world rankings) are ranked within the top 50 worldwide; so too is Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU, 31= in the world rankings).

India claims nine of the world’s 400 top universities for mathematics, including the Indian Institute of Science at 101-150, along with six of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology – the IITs of Bombay (IITB, 22^nd in the world rankings), Delhi (IITD, 235^th in the world rankings), Kanpur (IITK, 300^th in the world rankings), Kharagpur (IITKGP, 324^th in the world rankings), Madras (IITM, 322^nd in the world rankings) and Roorkee (IITR, 461-470 in the world rankings).

Each with six schools featured are Hong Kong and Taiwan. While National Taiwan University (NTU) is Taiwan’s only offering in the top 100, Hong Kong has four within the top 50. These are the University of Hong Kong (HKU, 28^th in the world rankings), City University of Hong Kong (108^th in the world rankings), Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST, 40^th in the world rankings), and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK, 46^th in the world rankings).

Despite being unrepresented within the top 100, Malaysia claims five places in the mathematics ranking, including the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM, 259^th in the world rankings) at 151-200.

Pakistan and Singapore meanwhile both claim two leaders in the field. While Pakistan’s best is Quaid-i-azam University at 201-250, both Singaporean schools are within the world’s top 50: the National University of Singapore (NUS, 22^nd in the world rankings) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU, 39^th in the world rankings).

Finally, Thailand has one representative, Chulalongkorn University (243^rd in the world rankings), at 301-400.

See our Asian country guides for practical information on studying in Asia, or discover more top universities in the region with the latest QS University Rankings: Asia.

Top universities for mathematics in Latin America

A total of 15 top universities for mathematics are found in Latin America, of which eight belong to Brazil. Of these eight, the Universidade de São Paulo (USP, 132^nd in the world rankings) and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp, 206^th in the world rankings) are both within the world’s top 100.

Three leading mathematics schools are located in Chile, including the Universidad de Chile (220^th in the world rankings) at 101-150, and a further two in Mexico, including the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM, 175^th in the world rankings) also at 101-150.

Argentina and Colombia meanwhile each have one school ranked among the world’s top 400 for mathematics:  the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA, 198^th in the world rankings) and Universidad Nacional de Colombia (316^th in the world rankings) respectively.

Explore our Latin American country guides or find more top universities in this region with the latest QS University Rankings: Latin America.

Top universities for mathematics in Africa and the Middle East

Five top math schools are claimed by Israel, three of which are among the world’s top 100. These are the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (138^th in the world rankings), Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (190^th in the world rankings) and Tel Aviv University (195^th in the world rankings).

In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, you’ll find three top universities for mathematics, including King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM, 225^th in the world rankings) at 151-200. Turkey offers an additional two leading math schools, including Middle East Technical University (401-410 in the world rankings) at 201-250, while Egypt has one – Cairo University (551-600 in the world rankings) at 301-400.

In Africa there are just two universities featured in the mathematics ranking, both of which belong to South Africa. These are the University of Cape Town (141^st in the world rankings) at 251-300 and Stellenbosch University (390^th in the world rankings) at 301-400.

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To learn more about any of the above world regions, see our where to study section. Or to explore the world’s leading universities in 35 more subjects, visit the QS World University Rankings by Subject homepage.

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