The QS rankings have recently been released and, for the first time since 2004, Harvard has been knocked out of first place by Cambridge University.

The rankings, which measure research quality, international commitment, graduate employability and teaching commitment have found the top 100 universities are spread across 22 countries; however, only British and American universities achieved a space in the coveted top 10. Fifteen Asian universities appear in the top 100, with the highest ranking institution being the University of Hong Kong at #23.

The top 10 from the QS Rankings were:

1. Cambridge
2. Harvard
3. Yale
4. University College London
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. Oxford
7. Imperial College London
8. The University of Chicago
9. California Institute of Technology
10. Princeton

The QS rankings are weighted:

• 40% to academic reputation
• 10% to employability
• 20% to citations
• 20% to the staff-student ratio
• 10% to how international the make-up of the faculty and student body is.

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS said: “Unlike other rankings systems which rely heavily on statistical indicators of university research, QS also takes into account the most up-to-date views of employers and academics, reflecting the broader interests of students and parents.

“QS rankings reflect the highly competitive environment of global higher education.

“Given the uncertain economic outlook, it is reassuring for students that the top 200 universities are also, by and large, the most popular universities with employers, suggesting that a world-class degree remains the best path to a great job.”

Prior to 2010, QS had worked in collaboration with the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine to compile their rankings. This year, however, THE are publishing their own rankings, having criticised QS for what they consider to be an over-reliance on the subjective experiences of academics and employers. THE have pledged to reduce the weighting behind reputation surveys for their rankings.