ABSTRACT
This chapter undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) which is one of the three oldest and most influential higher education ranking systems. QS has always positioned the QS WUR as specifically designed to provide information to prospective local and international students, but interest from university senior managers and governments remains a potent influence. QS has significantly extended its rankings portfolio to include a variety of new rankings with amended methodologies for new audiences. However, the QS WUR remains the biggest and arguably most prestigious QS product. The latest edition of the QS WUR marks the 17th consecutive publication and over the years the methodology, which encapsulates six indicators namely Academic reputation, Employer reputation, Faculty student ratio, Citations per faculty, International student ratio and International staff has stayed relatively stable with only minor amendments in the last couple of years. Critics and commentators have touched on various aspects of the QS methodology with their biggest concern being the large weighting attributed to, and measurement of, academic reputation as well as a reliance on university supplied data without any real means to verify the information supplied. This chapter discusses the methodology QS follows to produce its list of top international universities whilst highlighting recent amendments, perceived shortcomings, and the most notable criticisms.
