Times Higher Education World University Rankings Analysis Using Tableau

8 min readApr 9, 2024

Background

One of the most prominent worldwide university rankings is the Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE WUR). Based on a number of indicators, such as teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international prospects, THE WUR offers a thorough picture of university performance globally. Launched in 2004, Times Higher Education World University Rankings has grown to become one of the most important benchmarks for evaluation and university quality comparisons. With a comprehensive methodology and large data sets, this research provides valuable insights for academic leaders, students, and researchers themselves in managing the complex academic environment.

According to Times Higher Education, THE WUR measures university performance in four important areas using several meticulously calibrated performance indicators:

Teaching (30%): This statistic assesses the standard of instruction and learning at the university, taking into account factors including the staff-to-student ratio, teaching income, and reputation.
Research and Citation (60%): This statistic counts the amount of publications, citations, and revenue generated by a university’s research as well as its volume and impact.
Knowledge Transfer (2.5%): This statistic assesses how universities use research to generate income through patents, spin-outs, and innovation.
International Prospects (7.5%): This statistic assesses how internationalized a university is by looking at factors like the percentage of foreign faculty and students as well as international research partnerships.

Objectives

This analysis primary goal is to comprehend and investigate the dynamics and trends in international higher education by using the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings as a lens. To be more precise, writer will concentrate on five major issues that will facilitate analysis of the data and provide insightful knowledge:

Number of Students Per Country: The first goal is to determine and examine the total number of students enrolled in each country’s universities that are part of the THE ranking. This will give a general overview of the scope of higher education in various geographical areas and the global distribution of students inside prestigious universities.
Links to Industry: Secondly, author goal is to evaluate the relationship between the industrial impact of a university’s instruction and its teaching in THE rankings.
Count Universities Ranking: Determining the number of universities included in each nation’s THE rankings between 2016 and 2024 is the third goal. This will enable writer to monitor changes in the global higher education scene and the rise or fall in the number of universities from various countries in the rankings during this period of time.
Top Five Universities by Average Overall Scores: The fourth goal is to ascertain which colleges, based on average overall, would rank among the top five between 2016 and 2024. This will make it easier to find universities that continuously exhibit distinction in a number of crucial higher education areas.
Top-Scoring Countries in 2023: Lastly, author will examine the top 10 countries in 2023 based on average total score. This will reveal which areas, in terms of the caliber of institutions, control the higher education scene.

Writer aim is to present a comprehensive and easily comprehensible examination of the current situation of the world’s top universities and interactions with many aspects like students, industry, and global influence by utilizing Tableau data visualization to investigate these concerns.

Dataset

The author of this visualization analysis makes use of a Kaggle dataset that includes thousands of data points from all universities and institutions listed in the Times Higher Education ranking between 2016 and 2024 because author concern in the education side. Besides, author’s background is still university student as well. The following are the columns included in this dataset:

Rank: The university’s global rank
Name: The university’s name
Country: The country in which the university is located
Student Population: Total number of students in the university
Student to Staff: Number of students per staff
International Students: Percentage of international students
Female to Male Ratio: Female to male ratio
Overall Score: Score out of 100 based on teaching, research environment, research quality, industry impact, and international outlook
Teaching: Score out of 100 measuring the university’s quality of teaching
Research Environment: Score out of 100 measuring the university’s ability to provide a conducive environment for research
Research Quality: Score out of 100 measuring the university’s ability to spread new knowledge and ideas
Industry Impact: Score out of 100 measuring the university’s ability to help the industry with innovations, inventions and
International Outlook: Score out of 100 measuring the university’s ability to attract undergraduates, postgraduates and faculty
Year: The year

Insight

1. Number of Students per Country

The dashboard provides information about how student populations globally in 2023. With the United States, India, and China having the largest student populations, it is clear that these countries institutions may have big capacity, suggesting that there may be a significant demand for higher education in those countries.

Conversely, lower student populations are seen in Africa, Central Asia, and some sections of South America. This could be a sign of issues with funding for higher education, the scarcity of universities in these countries, and demographic dynamics.

A country with high student concentration can indicate a variety of goals and benefits, such as easy access to higher education, appeal to foreign students, and higher education’s capacity to spur innovation and have an impact on the world economy.

2. Links to Industry

It shows that there is a moderate association between industrial impact and teaching scores, with an R-squared of 0.228982. This suggests that there are other aspects besides teaching quality that can affect the industrial impact by university. Furthermore, even though the connection is not very strong, the extremely low P-value (<0.0001) shows that the association between industrial impact and teaching scores is statistically significant.

This graph highlights the significance of teaching quality in positively influencing industrial effect, despite it’s moderate association. This could imply that colleges with better teaching scores frequently collaborate with business better or produce graduates who are more employable.

It may be concluded that while boosting teaching quality alone does not always result in a large rise in a university’s industry impact, other tactics may need to be taken into account in order to make a big impact.

3. Count Universities Ranking

With 1,506 universities, the United States leads the world in higher education, a reflection of its diverse and expansive higher education market. The supplied graph offers an interesting look at the global higher education scene from 2016 to 2024. The UK and Japan come in second and third with significant numbers, respectively, suggesting strong educational systems of global importance.

Meanwhile, China, Brazil, and Egypt also show noteworthy numbers, with China being particularly well-represented in Asia.

Universities in countries with fewer universities on the list can be prompted by this data to raise profile and academic standards in order to compete internationally. The graphic highlights the overview of the variety of universities options available worldwide.

4. Top Five Universities by Average Overall Scores

The top five institutions from 2016 to 2024 are ranked according to overall scores, as shown in the graph. The University of Oxford is notable for its ability to hold the top spot consistently over the course of the term, indicating ongoing superiority in the components of the worldwide ranking.

However, Stanford University and MIT are engaged in a fierce rivalry for second and third place, frequently switching places in the rankings.

Meanwhile, the California Institute of Technology’s ranks are trending lower even though it is still in the top five.

5. Top-Scoring Countries in 2023

The top ten countries for 2023 are represented in a bar chart based on the average total score for university education, with Singapore leading the pack by a significant margin.

Given Singapore’s high ranking, it appears that the country places a high priority on higher education, which could make it appealing to scholars and students around the globe. Meanwhile, Hong Kong and the Netherlands are ranked highly after each other.

Impressive ratings are shown by European countries like Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium, suggesting a strong educational system that upholds high standards for research and learning.

Despite being known for having some of the best education in the world, the United States ranks lower among these ten countries, which may make people consider what needs to be done to better its higher education system if it hopes to continue being a global leader in higher education for years to come.

Conclusion

The information and understanding gleaned from many charts provide a comprehensive picture of the state of higher education around the world. Largely populated countries like China, India, and the United States have big student capacity that can meet considerable demand, indicating strategic significance in the global education industry. This is in contrast to the smaller student populations in Central Asia, Africa, and some regions of South America, which highlights differences in the resources, access, and demographics of higher education.

Additionally, although while the association between teaching quality and industrial impact is statistically significant, it is only mild, indicating that improving teaching quality might not be enough to significantly boost a university’s influence on industry. Alternatively, a more comprehensive strategy that encourages industrial collaborations and innovation promotion would be required.

While the United States leads the world in university enrollment, country like Singapore, with outstanding academic records, serve as a constant reminder of how dynamic the world’s educational system is. Europe’s impressive performance suggests that the continent is committed to upholding high standards in education.

In summary, the general image that shows up emphasizes how important higher education is as a pillar of both national development and competitiveness in the global market. It emphasizes how countries and academic institutions must constantly change and adapt in order to preserve or improve standing internationally. The findings imply that when selecting educational pathways, academics and prospective students should take into account a variety of aspects, such as industry linkages, research possibilities, and the caliber of instruction.