There’s more than one way to look at the QS university rankings

Only the top universities offer the best university degrees. At least that appears to be the widely-held perception across the world. Year after year, the likes of MIT, Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge always seem to do well in the worldwide rankings, and 2013 has seen little change in that respect.

MIT tops this year’s QS World University Rankings. Harvard is second whilst Cambridge and UCL are third and fourth respectively. Imperial College London is fifth while others in the top-10 include Oxford, Stanford, Yale, University of Chicago and Caltech. It’s a real who’s who of the university world.

But should we be surprised? Is it simply that these top-notch educational institutions do everything so much better than their contemporaries? The universities mentioned so far rank in terms of their overall score. Switch the QS filter to ’employer reputation’ and a slightly different list emerges, with Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard in first, second and third place.

But what’s interesting is that institutions such as the French business school INSEAD and the University of Melbourne make it into this new top-10 list. In other words, while MIT might top the overall score this year, there are many other ways to look at the data, not least through the eyes of potential employers, the people who both recruit and pay the salaries of graduates.

It’s a point not lost on the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example. This is a modern, forward-looking university in the Persian Gulf which is fully conscious of its role in meeting the needs of employers. Indeed, in the Spring 2013 enrolment, its engineering department attracted more than 2,100 undergraduates out of an enrolment across all departments of more than 5,100.

AUS’s multicultural and international credentials were also underlined further with the latest intake of students. Many, of course, are UAE nationals. Others have come from Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, India, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United States and from many other countries around the world.

The university, which has slightly more male than female students, was founded in 1997 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and Ruler of Sharjah. It is an independent, not-for-profit coeducational institution which is consciously based upon American institutions of higher education. However, AUS is thoroughly grounded in Arab culture and is part of a larger process which seeks to revitalise the intellectual life of the Middle East.

The popular 140-credit Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering program, for example, aims to provide students with the highest level of technical preparation, social responsibility, leadership and lifelong learning skills for successful careers in civil engineering.

This is achieved through quality education based on a nationally and internationally recognized curriculum supported by well-equipped laboratories and state-of-the-art educational tools. The department provides a professional environment that fosters fairness, ethics, diversity, faculty development, quality research, and outreach with industry and public agencies.

AUS says, “With governments throughout the region eager to develop and enhance their infrastructure and the construction industry playing a significant role in that development, our region has seen an increased demand for civil engineers. As a result, many of our graduates get multiple job offers upon graduation.”

There are many other good universities to be found all across the Middle East. You can check out their QS rankings here.