University of Barcelona in world top 100

The University of Barcelona (UB) is 87^th best in the world and 25^th in Europe according to the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR). It continues to be at the forefront of universities in Spain as a whole, followed by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) which came in at 152^nd place.

For UB, the results of 2018 mark an improvement from the previous year when it ranked 103^rd. In terms of scientific production, UB was 47^th in the world ranking.

Underfinanced

The rector of UB, Joan Elias, stressed that public universities function in a context “defined by underfinancing and lack of autonomy in some aspects, such as teachers’ policy.” For this reason, he said that for UB to be in the top 100 universities in the world was a “real success.”

Elias also highlighted the “excellent” work carried out by the university’s researchers. “How far could we go if we had a budget comparable to other European universities?” he asked.

International level

On an international level, the United States leads the ranking. Out of the top ten universities in the world, eight of them American. Harvard, Stanford, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) lead the table. In fourth and fifth place came the English universities Cambridge and Oxford respectively.