The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-2015 list the best global universities and are the only international university performance tables to judge world-class universities across all of their core missions - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The top universities rankings employ 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons available, which are trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments. 
 
 Video of The World’s Best Universities: Times Higher Education 2014-2015 results 
 
 Browse the full rankings portfolio ||||| Oxford 4th, Cambridge 6th in university rankings 
 
 LONDON — US and British institutions once again dominate an annual worldwide league table of universities published Thursday, but there is a fresh name at the top, unseating long-time leader Harvard. 
 
 California Institute of Technology (Caltech) knocked the famous Massachusetts institution from the summit of the Times Higher Education (THE) league table for the first time in eight years, with US schools claiming 75 of the top 200 places. 
 
 There was also change at the top in Britain where Oxford sneaked into fourth spot, overtaking Cambridge, which slipped to sixth. 
 
 Britain boasts 32 establishments in the top 200, but an overhaul in the way in which the country's universities are funded has raised concerns over its continuing success. 
 
 Asia's increasing presence in the annual table has stalled, with 30th placed University of Tokyo leading the continent's representation. 
 
 China's top two universities hold on to their elite status, but no more institutions from the developing powerhouse managed to break into the top 200. 
 
 THE attributed Caltech's success to "consistent results across the indicators and a steep rise in research funding". 
 
 Caltech specialises in science and engineering and has its main campus a short distance north of Los Angeles. 
 
 365-year-old Harvard, which loses the top spot for the first time since THE began publishing a global university ranking, shares second place with Californian university Stanford. 
 
 The turnabout between Cambridge and Oxford can be put down to a greater emphasis being put on the arts, humanities and social sciences in this year's study, THE explained. 
 
 David Willetts, British minister of state for universities and science, said: "Relative to our size and smaller per capita resources, we have -- according to some measures -- the world's best-performing higher education sector." 
 
 The top 10 places are mainly occupied by US universities, including Princeton, Berkeley and Chicago. 
 
 Only two universities from outside the United States and Britain -- Switzerland's Federal Institute of Technology in 15th spot and Canada's University of Toronto in 19th -- make it into the top 20. 
 
 Israel is the only Middle Eastern country to break the top 200 with Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 121st place and Tel Aviv University in 166th place. 
 
 For the first time, the study also ranked countries according to their relative GDP with Hong Kong and the Netherlands coming out on top. 
 
 Ann Mroz, editor of Times Higher Education, said: "New powers are emerging, traditional hierarchies are facing challenges, the global competition for talent is heating up and these league tables help us understand this rapidly changing situation." 
 
 The data ranked universities on 13 performance indicators within the fields of research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international activity. 
 
 Times Higher Education's ranking of the top 10 universities: 
 
 California Institute of Technology 
 
 Harvard 
 
 Stanford 
 
 Oxford 
 
 Princeton 
 
 Cambridge 
 
 MIT 
 
 Imperial College 
 
 Chicago 
 
 California, Berkeley 
 
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– Hang your head in shame, Crimson alums: After eight years on top, Harvard sank to a lowly second on the Times Higher Education’s list of the world’s top 400 universities. Harvard was displaced by the California Institute of Technology (aka Caltech), thanks to its “consistent results across the indicators and a steep rise in research funding,” the Times wrote. The US dominates the list, claiming 75 of the top 200 spots, the AFP notes. Britain comes in second with 32 of the top 200, and the two countries combined for 18 of the top 20 spots, with only Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology (15) and Canada’s University of Toronto (19) intruding. Here’s the top 10: California Institute of Technology Harvard Stanford Oxford Princeton Cambridge MIT Imperial College Chicago University of California, Berkeley