The Best Universities in the World: Vilnius university

Historic event for Lithuania: Vilnius university among the top 500 best universities in the world

Vilnius university (VU) was ranked among the top 500 best universities in the world for the first time in the history of the Lithuanian higher education.

In the official rating of the world’s top universities “QS World University Rankings 2016–2017” Vilnius university was listed in the range of 481-490 top universities. Last year the same ranking placed Vilnius university in the range of 501-550 top universities.

Vilnius University

According to the common indicators Vilnius university maintains a stable growth in the areas of strategic importance: Vilnius university received an excellent rating according to the student-to-faculty ratio (217th place), high academic reputation and employer reputation. On the basis of the latter indicator, the largest university of our country increased its rating by 44 positions and was given the 352nd place. The scientific production data also improved – in 2011-2015 the number of citations increased by 34.6 per cent.

“It is an indeed historic rating, as we are the first university in the country to become one of the top 500 best universities in the world. Such international recognition proves that the initiated strategic changes have contributed to the implementation of our goals. But we are not limiting ourselves to leadership only: our objective is to be ranked among the best European universities, and reaching this goal requires both our own commitment and actions by the state. By optimizing its resources Vilnius university has demonstrated a breakthrough, but if the required attention to the quality of the higher education will not be paid in our country and the resources for this key area will be wasted, it will be difficult to maintain the current position”, said the Rector of the university Prof. Artūras Žukauskas.

According to the Rector, this achievement is a merit of the whole Lithuania, and Vilnius university is willing to become the Lithuanian Ambassador of Higher Education in the world, as it has accumulated the required knowledge and competences.

“We are open to share our knowledge with the Lithuanian institutions and to contribute to the quality improvement and positive developments of the Lithuanian higher education”, added the Head of the university.

Four Lithuanian higher education institutions are rated in total. Vilnius university continues to hold the top position in the country in terms of academic reputation, employer reputation and student-to-faculty ratio.

“QS World University Rankings 2016–2017” is the major independent university ranking system in the world which is concluded annually since 2004. This year over 4 thousand university applications were considered and almost one thousand universities were assessed.

The final results are compiled by evaluating the academic reputation, employer reputation, student-to-faculty ratio in faculties, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio and international student ratio, it is just important to mention that this may not be a choice for everyone as some people prefer to look for tuition assistance for military personnel in online universities that offer this special service.