Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities
HEEACT World University Rankings ( Top 20 by field ) -- Life Sciences
Table:
2010

2009

2008

University

Country

01

01

01

Harvard University

US

02

02

02

Johns Hopkins University

US

03

03

03

University of California- San Francisco

US

04

06

06

University of California- San Diego

US

05

04

04

Stanford University

US

06

08

11

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

US

07

12

12

University of Oxford

United Kingdom

08

09

07

University of Washington- Seattle

US

09

07

05

Yale University

US

10

10

10

University College London

United Kingdom

11

05

08

University of Pennsylvania

US

12

11

9

University of California- Los Angeles

US

13

13

13

University of Cambridge

United Kingdom

14

18

18

University of Michigan- Ann Arbor

US

15

16

15

Washington University in St. Louis

US

16

14

16

University of Toronto

Canada

17

17

17

The University of Tokyo

Japan

18

15

14

Columbia University

US

19

19

19

Duke University

US

20

27

35

Imperial College London

United Kingdom

Using the provided table together with the relevant paragraphs below.

Answer the following question: What is the political system of this nation where the oldest university in the English-speaking world is located ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts , with about 6,800 undergraduate students and about 14,000 postgraduate students . Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor , clergyman John Harvard , Harvard is the United States ' oldest institution of higher learning . Its history , influence , wealth , and academic reputation have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world . The Harvard Corporation , chartered in 1650 , is the governing body of Harvard . In its early years , Harvard College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy , although it has never been formally affiliated with any denomination . Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century , and by the 19th century , Harvard had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites . Following the American Civil War , President Charles W. Eliot 's long tenure ( 1869-1909 ) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a modern research university ; Harvard was a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900 . A. Lawrence Lowell , who succeeded Eliot , further reformed the undergraduate curriculum and undertook aggressive expansion of Harvard 's land holdings and physical campus . James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II ; he began to liberalize admissions after the war . The university is organized into eleven principal academic units - ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study - with campuses throughout Greater Boston : its 209-acre ( 85 ha ) original undergraduate campus is centered on Harvard Yard in Cambridge , approximately 3 miles ( 5 km ) northwest of Boston ; the business school and many athletics facilities , including Harvard Stadium , are across the Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston ; and the medical , dental , and public health schools are in the Longwood Medical Area . Harvard 's endowment is worth $ 40.9 billion , making it the largest of any academic institution . Harvard is a large , highly residential research university .
The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. or US ) or America , is a country consisting of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . [ g ] At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) , it is the world 's third or fourth-largest country by total area [ b ] and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe . Most of the country is located in central North America between Canada and Mexico . With an estimated population of over 328 million , the U.S. is the third most populous country in the world . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the most populous city is New York City . Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies led to the American Revolutionary War lasting between 1775 and 1783 , leading to independence . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century - gradually acquiring new territories , displacing Native Americans , and admitting new states - until by 1848 it spanned the continent . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the abolition of slavery in the United States . The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country 's status as a global military power .
Johns Hopkins University is a private research university in Baltimore , Maryland . Founded in 1876 , the university was named for its first benefactor , the American entrepreneur , abolitionist , and philanthropist Johns Hopkins . His $ 7 million bequest ( approximately $ 147.5 million in today 's dollars ) - of which half financed the establishment of Johns Hopkins Hospital - was the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the United States up to that time . Daniel Coit Gilman , who was inaugurated as the institution 's first president on February 22 , 1876 , led the university to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. by integrating teaching and research . Adopting the concept of a graduate school from Germany 's ancient Heidelberg University , Johns Hopkins University is considered the first research university in the United States . Over the course of several decades , the university has led all U.S. universities in annual research and development expenditures . In fiscal year 2016 , Johns Hopkins spent nearly $ 2.5 billion on research . The university has additional graduate campuses in Italy , China , and Washington , D.C. , in addition to its main campus in Baltimore , Maryland . The university has been ranked by numerous major education publications as among the top universities in the world . Johns Hopkins is organized into 10 divisions on campuses in Maryland and Washington , D.C. , with international centers in Italy and China . The two undergraduate divisions , the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering , are located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore 's Charles Village neighborhood . The medical school , the nursing school , and the Bloomberg School of Public Health are located on the Medical Institutions campus in East Baltimore .
The University of California , San Francisco ( UCSF ) is a public research university in San Francisco , California . It is part of the University of California system and it is dedicated entirely to health science . It is a major center of medical and biological research and teaching . UCSF was founded as Toland Medical College in 1864 , and in 1873 it affiliated itself with the University of California , becoming its Medical Department . In the same year , it incorporated the California College of Pharmacy and in 1881 it established a dentistry school . Its facilities were located in both Berkeley and San Francisco . In 1964 , the school gained full administrative independence as a campus of the UC system headed by a chancellor , and in 1970 it gained its current name . Historically based at Parnassus Heights and several other locations throughout the city , in the early 2000s it developed a second major campus in the newly redeveloped Mission Bay . As of October 2018 , nine Nobel laureates have been affiliated with UCSF as faculty members or researchers , and the University has been the site of many scientific breakthroughs . The UCSF School of Medicine is the oldest medical school in the Western United States and is highly ranked by international and national rankings of prestige and funding . The UCSF Graduate Division offers 19 PhD programs , 11 MS programs , two certificates and a physical therapy program . UCSF is ranked 5th among research-oriented medical schools in the United States and ranked 3rd for primary care by U.S. News and World Report and is ranked 1st among medical schools in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities ( Clinical Medicine , 2019 ) .
The University of California , San Diego ( UC San Diego or , colloquially , UCSD [ a ] ) is a public research university in San Diego , California . Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography , UC San Diego is the seventh-oldest of the 10 University of California campuses and offers over 200 undergraduate and graduate degree programs , enrolling approximately 30,800 undergraduate and 8,000 graduate students . The university occupies 2,141 acres ( 866 ha ) near the coast of the Pacific Ocean , with the main campus resting on approximately 1,152 acres ( 466 ha ) . UC San Diego is organized into seven undergraduate residential colleges ( Revelle , John Muir , Thurgood Marshall , Earl Warren , Eleanor Roosevelt , Sixth , and Seventh ; Seventh College will enroll its first students in Fall 2020 ) , four academic divisions ( Arts and Humanities , Biological Sciences , Physical Sciences , and Social Sciences ) , and seven graduate and professional schools ( Jacobs School of Engineering , Rady School of Management , Scripps Institution of Oceanography , School of Global Policy and Strategy , School of Medicine , Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences , and the newly approved School of Public Health ) . UC San Diego Health , the region 's only academic health system , provides patient care , conducts medical research and educates future health care professionals at the UC San Diego Medical Center , Hillcrest , Jacobs Medical Center , Moores Cancer Center , Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center , Shiley Eye Institute , Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion and various express care and urgent care clinics throughout San Diego . The university operates 19 organized research units ( ORUs ) , including the Center for Energy Research , Qualcomm Institute ( a branch of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology ) , San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind , as well as eight School of Medicine research units , six research centers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and two multi-campus initiatives , including the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation . UC San Diego is also closely affiliated with several regional research centers , such as the Salk Institute , the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute , the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine , and the Scripps Research Institute . According to the National Science Foundation , UC San Diego spent $ 1.133 billion on research and development in fiscal year 2017 , ranking it 7th in the nation . UCSD is considered one of the country 's Public Ivies . As of August 2018 , UC San Diego faculty , researchers and alumni have won 27 Nobel Prizes and three Fields Medals , eight National Medals of Science , eight MacArthur Fellowships , and two Pulitzer Prizes . Additionally , of the current faculty , 29 have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering , 70 to the National Academy of Sciences , 45 to the Institute of Medicine and 110 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .
Stanford University , officially Leland Stanford Junior University , is a private research university in Stanford , California . Stanford is known for its academic achievements , wealth , close proximity to Silicon Valley , and selectivity ; it ranks as one of the world 's top universities . The university was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child , Leland Stanford Jr. , who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year . Stanford was a U.S . Senator and former Governor of California who made his fortune as a railroad tycoon . The school admitted its first students on October 1 , 1891 , as a coeducational and non-denominational institution . Stanford University struggled financially after the death of Leland Stanford in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Following World War II , Provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates ' entrepreneurialism to build self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley . The university is also one of the top fundraising institutions in the country , becoming the first school to raise more than a billion dollars in a year . The university is organized around three traditional schools consisting of 40 academic departments at the undergraduate and graduate level and four professional schools that focus on graduate programs in law , medicine , education , and business . Students compete in 36 varsity sports , and the university is one of two private institutions in the Division I FBS Pac-12 Conference . It has gained 126 NCAA team championships , and Stanford has won the NACDA Directors ' Cup for 24 consecutive years , beginning in 1994-1995 .
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) is a private research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts . The Institute is a land-grant , sea-grant , and space-grant university , with an urban campus that extends more than a mile ( 1.6 km ) alongside the Charles River . The Institute also encompasses a number of major off-campus facilities such as the MIT Lincoln Laboratory , the Bates Center , and the Haystack Observatory , as well as affiliated laboratories such as the Broad and Whitehead Institutes . Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States , MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering . It has since played a key role in the development of many aspects of modern science , engineering , mathematics , and technology , and is widely known for its innovation and academic strength , making it one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the world . As of October 2019 [ update ] , 96 Nobel laureates , 26 Turing Award winners , and 8 Fields Medalists have been affiliated with MIT as alumni , faculty members , or researchers . In addition , 58 National Medal of Science recipients , 29 National Medals of Technology and Innovation recipients , 50 MacArthur Fellows , 73 Marshall Scholars , 48 Rhodes Scholars , 41 astronauts , and 16 Chief Scientists of the US Air Force have been affiliated with MIT . The school also has a strong entrepreneurial culture , and the aggregated annual revenues of companies founded by MIT alumni ( $ 1.9 trillion ) would rank roughly as the tenth-largest economy in the world ( 2014 ) . MIT is a member of the Association of American Universities ( AAU ) .
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford , England . There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096 , making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world 's second-oldest university in continuous operation . It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris . After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209 , some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge . The two ancient universities are frequently jointly called Oxbridge . The history and influence of the University of Oxford has made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world . The university is made up of 39 constituent colleges , and a range of academic departments , which are organised into four divisions . All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university , each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities . It does not have a main campus , and its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre . Undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the colleges and halls , supported by classes , lectures , seminars , and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments ; some postgraduate teaching includes tutorials organised by faculties and departments . It operates the world 's oldest university museum , as well as the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system nationwide . In the fiscal year ending 31 July 2018 , the university had a total income of £2.2 billion , of which £579 million was from research grants and contracts .
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK or U.K. ) or Britain , [ note 11 ] is a sovereign country located off the north­western coast of the European mainland . Existing under its current name since 1921 , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north­eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland . Otherwise , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to the east , the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland . The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles ( 240,000 km2 ) . The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy . [ note 12 ] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 1952 , making her the world 's longest-serving current head of state . The United Kingdom 's capital and largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million . Other major cities include Birmingham , Manchester , Glasgow , Leeds and Liverpool . The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . Their capitals are London , Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast , respectively .
The University of Washington ( UW , simply Washington , or informally U-Dub ) is a public research university in Seattle , Washington . Founded in 1861 , Washington was first established in downtown Seattle approximately a decade after the city 's founding to aid its economic development . Today , the university 's 703-acre main Seattle campus is in the University District above the Montlake Cut , within the urban Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest . The university has additional campuses in Tacoma and Bothell . Overall , UW encompasses over 500 buildings and over 20 million gross square footage of space , including one of the largest library systems in the world with over 26 university libraries , as well as the UW Tower , lecture halls , art centers , museums , laboratories , stadiums , and conference centers . The university offers bachelor 's , master 's , and doctoral degrees through 140 departments in various colleges and schools , sees about 46,000 in total student enrollment every year , and functions on a quarter system . Washington is a member of the Association of American Universities and classified as an R1 Doctoral Research University classification under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education . It is cited as a leading university in the world for scientific performance and research output by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the CWTS Leiden Ranking . In the 2015 fiscal year , the UW received nearly $ 1.2 billion in research funding , the 3rd largest among all universities in the United States . As the flagship institution of the six public universities in Washington State , it is known for its research in medicine , science , as well as its highly-competitive computer science and engineering programs . Additionally , Washington continues to benefit from its deep historical ties and major collaborations with numerous technology giants in the region , such as Amazon , Boeing , Nintendo , and particularly Microsoft . Paul G. Allen , Bill Gates and others spent significant time at Washington computer labs for a startup venture before founding Microsoft .
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven , Connecticut . Founded in 1701 , it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution . Chartered by Connecticut Colony , the Collegiate School was established in 1701 by clergy to educate Congregational ministers . It moved to New Haven in 1716 and shortly after was renamed Yale College in recognition of a gift from British East India Company governor Elihu Yale . Originally restricted to theology and sacred languages , the curriculum began to incorporate humanities and sciences by the time of the American Revolution . In the 19th century , the college expanded into graduate and professional instruction , awarding the first Ph.D. in the United States in 1861 and organizing as a university in 1887 . Its faculty and student populations grew after 1890 with rapid expansion of the physical campus and scientific research . Yale is organized into fourteen constituent schools : the original undergraduate college , the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and twelve professional schools . While the university is governed by the Yale Corporation , each school 's faculty oversees its curriculum and degree programs . In addition to a central campus in downtown New Haven , the university owns athletic facilities in western New Haven , a campus in West Haven , Connecticut and forest and nature preserves throughout New England . The university 's assets include an endowment valued at $ 30.3 billion as of September 2019 , the second largest endowment of any educational institution in North America . The Yale University Library , serving all constituent schools , holds more than 15 million volumes and is the third-largest academic library in the United States .
University College London , which has operated under the official name of UCL since 2005 , is a public research university located in London , United Kingdom . It is a member institution of the federal University of London , and is the third largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment , and the largest by postgraduate enrolment . Established in 1826 as London University by founders inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham , UCL was the first university institution to be established in London , and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion . UCL also makes the contested claims of being the third-oldest university in England [ note 1 ] and the first to admit women . [ note 2 ] In 1836 UCL became one of the two founding colleges of the University of London , which was granted a royal charter in the same year . It has grown through mergers , including with the Institute of Neurology ( in 1997 ) , the Royal Free Hospital Medical School ( in 1998 ) , the Eastman Dental Institute ( in 1999 ) , the School of Slavonic and East European Studies ( in 1999 ) , the School of Pharmacy ( in 2012 ) and the Institute of Education ( in 2014 ) . UCL has its main campus in the Bloomsbury area of central London , with a number of institutes and teaching hospitals elsewhere in central London and satellite campuses in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford , east London and in Doha , Qatar . UCL is organised into 11 constituent faculties , within which there are over 100 departments , institutes and research centres . UCL operates several museums and collections in a wide range of fields , including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Grant Museum of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy , and administers the annual Orwell Prize in political writing . In 2017/18 , UCL had around 41,500 students and 15,100 staff ( including around 7,100 academic staff and 840 professors ) and had a total group income of £1.45 billion , of which £476.3 million was from research grants and contracts . In the most recent Research Excellence Framework rankings for research power , UCL was the top-rated university in the UK as calculated by Times Higher Education , and second as calculated by The Guardian/Research Fortnight . UCL had the 9th highest average entry tariff in the UK for students starting in 2017 .
The University of Pennsylvania ( Penn or UPenn ) is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The University claims a founding date of 1740 [ note 2 ] and is one of the nine colonial colleges founded prior to the U.S . Declaration of Independence . Benjamin Franklin , Penn 's founder and first president , advocated an educational program that trained leaders in commerce , government , and public service , similar to a modern liberal arts curriculum . Penn has four undergraduate schools as well as twelve graduate and professional schools . Among its graduate and professional schools are the first school of medicine in North America ( Perelman School of Medicine , 1765 ) , the first collegiate business school ( Wharton School , 1881 ) , and the first student union building and organization ( Houston Hall , 1896 ) . In 2019 , the university had an endowment of $ 14.65 billion , the seventh largest endowment of all colleges in the United States , as well as a research budget of $ 1.02 billion . The university 's athletics program , the Quakers , fields varsity teams in 33 sports as a member of the NCAA Division I Ivy League conference . As of 2018 , distinguished alumni include 14 heads of state , 64 billionaires , 3 U.S. Supreme Court justices , 33 U.S . Senators , 44 U.S. Governors , 159 members of the U.S. House of Representatives , 8 signers of the U.S . Declaration of Independence , 12 signers of the U.S. Constitution , 24 members of the Continental Congress , and the current U.S. President , Donald Trump . Other notable alumni include 29 Rhodes Scholars , 15 Marshall Scholars , 16 Pulitzer Prize winners , and 48 Fulbright Scholars .
The University of California , Los Angeles ( UCLA ) is a public research university in Los Angeles . It became the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919 , making it the fourth-oldest ( after UC Berkeley , UC San Francisco , and UC Davis ) of the 10-campus University of California system and oldest of the campuses in Southern California . It offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines . UCLA enrolls about 31,500 undergraduate and 12,800 graduate students and had 119,000 applicants for Fall 2016 , including transfer applicants , making the school the most applied-to of any American university . The university is organized into six undergraduate colleges , seven professional schools , and four professional health science schools . The undergraduate colleges are the College of Letters and Science ; Samueli School of Engineering ; School of the Arts and Architecture ; Herb Alpert School of Music ; School of Theater , Film and Television ; and School of Nursing . As of 2017 [ update ] , 24 Nobel laureates , three Fields Medalists , and five Turing Award winners , and two Chief Scientists of the U.S. Air Force have been affiliated with UCLA as faculty , researchers , or alumni . Among the current faculty members , 55 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences , 28 to the National Academy of Engineering , 39 to the Institute of Medicine , and 124 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . The university was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1974 . UCLA is considered one of the country 's Public Ivy universities , meaning that it is a public university thought to provide a quality of education comparable with that of the Ivy League . US News & World Report named UCLA the best public university in the United States for 2019 . UCLA student-athletes compete as the Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference .
The University of Cambridge ( legally The Chancellor , Masters , and Scholars of the University of Cambridge ) is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge , United Kingdom . Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by King Henry III in 1231 , Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world 's fourth-oldest surviving university . The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople . The two 'ancient universities ' share many common features and are often referred to jointly as 'Oxbridge ' . The academic standards , history , influence and wealth of the University of Cambridge has made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world . Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 semi-autonomous constituent Colleges and over 100 academic departments organised into six schools . Cambridge University Press , a department of the university , is the world 's oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world . Cambridge Assessment , also a department of the university , is one of the world 's leading examining bodies and provides assessment to over eight million learners globally every year . The university also operates eight cultural and scientific museums , including the Fitzwilliam Museum , as well as a botanic garden . Cambridge 's libraries , of which there are over 100 , hold a total of around 16 million books , around nine million of which are in Cambridge University Library , a legal deposit library . The university is home to , but independent of , the Cambridge Union - the world 's oldest debating society . The university is closely linked to the development of the high-tech business cluster known as 'Silicon Fen ' .
The University of Michigan ( UM , U-M , U of M , or UMich ) , often simply referred to as Michigan , is a public research university in Ann Arbor , Michigan . The university is Michigan 's oldest ; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit , as the Catholepistemiad , or University of Michigania , 20 years before the territory became a state . The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres ( 16 ha ) of what is now known as Central Campus . Since its establishment in Ann Arbor , the flagship university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet ( 780 acres ; 3.2 km2 ) spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus , two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn , and a Center in Detroit . The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities . Considered one of the foremost research universities in the United States with annual research expenditures approaching $ 1.5 billion , Michigan is classified among R1 : Doctoral Universities - Very high research activity . As of October 2019 [ update ] , 25 Nobel Prize winners , 6 Turing Award winners and 1 Fields Medalist have been affiliated with the University of Michigan . Its comprehensive graduate program offers doctoral degrees in the humanities , social sciences , and STEM fields ( science , technology , engineering , and mathematics ) as well as professional degrees in architecture , business , medicine , law , pharmacy , nursing , social work , public health , and dentistry . Michigan 's body of living alumni comprises more than 540,000 people , one of the largest alumni bases of any university in the world . Michigan 's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the Wolverines . They are members of the Big Ten Conference . More than 250 Michigan athletes or coaches have participated in Olympic events , winning more than 150 medals .
Washington University in St. Louis ( WashU , or WUSTL ) is a private research university in Greater St. Louis with its main campus mostly in unincorporated St. Louis County , Missouri and Clayton , Missouri , its West Campus in Clayton , its North Campus in the West End neighborhood of St. Louis , Missouri , and its Medical Campus in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis , Missouri . Founded in 1853 , and named after George Washington , the university has students and faculty from all 50 U.S. states and more than 120 countries . As of 2017 , 24 Nobel laureates in economics , physiology and medicine , chemistry , and physics have been affiliated with Washington University , nine having done the major part of their pioneering research at the university . Washington University is made up of seven graduate and undergraduate schools that encompass a broad range of academic fields . To prevent confusion over its location , the Board of Trustees added the phrase in St. Louis in 1976 .
The University of Toronto ( U of T or UToronto ) is a public research university in Toronto , Ontario , Canada , located on the grounds that surround Queen 's Park . It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King 's College , the first institution of higher learning in the colony of Upper Canada . Originally controlled by the Church of England , the university assumed its present name in 1850 upon becoming a secular institution . As a collegiate university , it comprises eleven colleges each with substantial autonomy on financial and institutional affairs and significant differences in character and history . The university also operates two satellite campuses located in Scarborough and Mississauga . Academically , the University of Toronto is noted for influential movements and curricula in literary criticism and communication theory , known collectively as the Toronto School . The university was the birthplace of insulin and stem cell research , and was the site of the first practical electron microscope , the development of deep learning , multi-touch technology , the identification of the first black hole Cygnus X-1 , and the development of the theory of NP-completeness . It receives the most annual scientific research funding of any Canadian university and is one of two members of the Association of American Universities outside the United States , the other being McGill University . The Varsity Blues are the athletic teams that represent the university in intercollegiate league matches , with long and storied ties to gridiron football , rowing and ice hockey . The earliest recorded college football game was played in the University of Toronto 's University College in the early 1860s . The university 's Hart House is an early example of the North American student centre , simultaneously serving cultural , intellectual , and recreational interests within its large Gothic-revival complex . The University of Toronto has educated three Governors General of Canada , four Prime Ministers of Canada , three foreign leaders , and fourteen Justices of the Supreme Court .
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering 9.98 million square kilometres ( 3.85 million square miles ) , making it the world 's second-largest country by total area . Its southern border with the United States , stretching some 8,891 kilometres ( 5,525 mi ) , is the world 's longest bi-national land border . Canada 's capital is Ottawa , and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto , Montreal , and Vancouver . As a whole , Canada is sparsely populated , with most of its land area dominated by forest and tundra . Its population is highly urbanized , with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities , and 70 percent residing within 100 kilometres ( 62 mi ) of the southern border . Canada 's climate varies widely across its vast area , ranging from Arctic climate in the north to hot summers in the southern regions , with four distinct seasons . Various indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization . Beginning in the 16th century , British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast . As a consequence of various armed conflicts , France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 . In 1867 , with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation , Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces . This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom .
The University of Tokyo ( 東京大学 , Tōkyō daigaku ) , abbreviated as Todai ( 東大 , Tōdai ) or UTokyo , is a public research university located in Bunkyo , Tokyo , Japan . Established in 1877 as the first imperial university , it is one of Japan 's most prestigious universities . The university has 10 faculties and enrolls about 30,000 students , 2,100 of whom are international students . Its five campuses are in Hongō , Komaba , Kashiwa , Shirokane and Nakano . It is among the top echelon of the select Japanese universities assigned additional funding under the MEXT 's Top Global University Project to enhance Japan 's global educational competitiveness . As of 2018 , University of Tokyo 's alumni , faculty members and researchers include seventeen prime ministers , sixteen Nobel Prize laureates , three Pritzker Prize laureates , three astronauts , and a Fields Medalist .
Japan ( Japanese : 日本 , Nippon [ ɲippoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) or Nihon [ ɲihoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) ) is an island country located in East Asia . It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east , and spans more than 3,000 kilometers ( 1,900 mi ) along the coast of the continent from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south . Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , Japan encompasses a stratovolcanic archipelago of about 6,852 islands , with five main islands ( Hokkaido , Honshu , Kyushu , Shikoku , and Okinawa ) comprising 97% of the country 's total area of 377,975 square kilometers ( 145,937 sq mi ) . Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions . Approximately two-thirds of the country 's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested , and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture . Consequently , Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world , with over 90% of its population living in urban areas . The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo , which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people . Japan itself is the world 's eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million , of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese . The kanji ( or Chinese characters ) that make up the name of Japan in the Japanese language mean sun origin ; in the Western world , the country is often known by the sobriquet Land of the Rising Sun . Periods of influence from other regions , primarily China , followed by periods of isolation , particularly from Western Europe , have characterized the history of Japan . While archaeological evidence indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period , the first written mention of the archipelago appears in Chinese texts from the first century AD . Between the fourth and ninth centuries , the kingdoms of Japan became gradually unified under an Emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō ( modern Kyoto ) .
Columbia University ( also known as Columbia , and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York ) is a private Ivy League research university in New York City . Established in 1754 on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan , Columbia is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States . It is one of nine colonial colleges founded prior to the Declaration of Independence , seven of which belong to the Ivy League . It has been ranked by numerous major education publications as among the top ten universities in the world . Columbia was established as King 's College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain in reaction to the founding of Princeton University in New Jersey . It was renamed Columbia College in 1784 following the American Revolution , and in 1787 was placed under a private board of trustees headed by former students Alexander Hamilton and John Jay . In 1896 , the campus was moved to its current location in Morningside Heights and renamed Columbia University . Columbia scientists and scholars have played an important role in the development of notable scientific fields and breakthroughs including : brain-computer interface ; the laser and maser ; nuclear magnetic resonance ; the first nuclear pile ; the first nuclear fission reaction in the Americas ; Thomas Hunt Morgan 's drosophila experiment - considered the origin of modern genetics ; the first evidence for plate tectonics and continental drift ; and much of the initial research and planning of the Manhattan Project during World War II . The Columbia University Physics Department has been affiliated with 33 Nobel Prize winners as alumni , faculty or research staff , the third most of any American institution behind MIT and Harvard . In addition , 22 Nobel Prize winners in Physiology or Medicine have been affiliated with Columbia , the third most of any American institution . The university 's research efforts include the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory , Goddard Institute for Space Studies and accelerator laboratories with major technology firms such as IBM . Columbia is one of the fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities and was the first school in the United States to grant the M.D .
Duke University is a private research university in Durham , North Carolina . Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day town of Trinity in 1838 , the school moved to Durham in 1892 . In 1924 , tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment and the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father , Washington Duke . Duke is often ranked as one of the world 's top 20-25 universities . The Wall Street Journal has also named Duke as the best university for graduate outcomes for several years in a row ( tied with Harvard University and Yale University ) . Several faculty members , affiliates and alumni have been awarded the Nobel Prize in recent years . Notable examples since 2012 include Robert Lefkowitz , Brian Kobilka , Gregg L. Semenza , Paul Modrich , William Kaelin , and George Smith . In 2019 , Clarivate Analytics named 54 members of Duke 's faculty to its list of Highly Cited Researchers . That number places Duke 8th among the world 's universities behind Harvard , Stanford , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Max Planck Society , Broad Institute , UC Berkeley and WUSTL . Duke 's campus spans over 8,600 acres ( 3,500 hectares ) on three contiguous sub-campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort . The West Campus - designed largely by architect Julian Abele - incorporates Gothic architecture with the 210-foot ( 64-meter ) Duke Chapel at the campus ' center and highest point of elevation , is adjacent to the Medical Center . East Campus , 1.5 miles ( 2.4 kilometers ) away , home to all first-years , contains Georgian-style architecture .
Imperial College London ( legally Imperial College of Science , Technology and Medicine ) is a public research university located in London . In 1851 , Prince Albert built his vision of an area for culture , including the Victoria and Albert Museum , Natural History Museum , Royal Colleges , Royal Albert Hall , and the Imperial Institute . In 1907 , Imperial College was established by royal charter , merging the Royal College of Science , Royal School of Mines , and City and Guilds of London Institute . In 1988 , the Imperial College School of Medicine was formed by combining with St Mary 's Hospital Medical School . In 2004 , Queen Elizabeth II opened the Imperial College Business School . The main campus is located in South Kensington , with an innovation campus in White City . The college also has a research centre at Silwood Park , and teaching hospitals throughout London . The university focuses exclusively on science , engineering , medicine , and business . Imperial has an international community , with more than 59% of students from outside the UK and 140 countries represented on campus . In 2019-20 , Imperial is internationally ranked 9th in the QS World University Rankings , 10th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings , 8th in Reuters The World 's Most Innovative Universities , and 24th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities . Student , staff , and researcher affiliations include 14 Nobel laureates , 3 Fields Medalists , 1 Turing Award winner , 74 Fellows of the Royal Society , 87 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering , and 85 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences .