If you’re planning to go on an exchange program in Latin America, you must pay attention to the QS World University Rankings 2018, the annual university classifications published by the publishing house Quacquarelli ,Symonds, in the United Kingdom. Together with the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the Academic Classification of World Universities, it’s one of the most influential international classifications of universities, observed all over the world. Brazil is outstanding among the 20 first places of Latin America, occupying seven positions, followed by Chile, which, besides heading the list, holds four positions, as well as Colombia. Teaching institutions in Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and Costa Rica are also mentioned.
The QS study considers eight items with different ratings when rating the teaching institution. First comes Academic Reputation (30%), then Employer’s Reputation (20%), Proportion of Professors/Students ((10%), Mentions in Research (10%), Number of Professors with Doctorates (10%), International Research Network ((10%), Works by professors (5%) and Impact on the Web (5%). The 2018 edition of the QS University Rankings analyzed 90 Brazilian universities, the country with the widest participation, followed by Mexico, with 63 teaching institutions analyzed. Completing the list of the most analyzed countries, Colombia has 53, Chile has 40, Argentina, 39, and Peru, 20.
If you want to go on an exchange program in Chile, the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (PUC Chile) holds first place, the Universidad de Chile is seventh, the Universidad de Santiago de Chile (Usach) is 13th, followed by the Universidad de Concepcion, in the 14th position. Mexico also stands out: the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (UNAM) holds 4th place and the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Itesm) is 6th. In 5th place, the Universidad de Los Andes Colombia heads the list of Colombian universities, also formed by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (10th), Universidad de Antioquia (15th) and Pontifícia Universidad Javeriana (17th). The Universidad de Buenos Aires represents Argentina and is in 8th place. In the 19th position, the Universidad de Costa Rica represents that country, followed by the Universidad de la Habana, Cuba, which closes the list of the 20 best institutions in Latin America.
Ranking QS Latin America 2018:
1 – Pontefícia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC Chile) – Chile
2 – Universidade de São Paulo (USP) – Brazil
3 – Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) – Brazil
4 – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico (Unam) – Mexico
5 – Universidad de Los Andes Colombia – Colombia
6 – Tecnológico de Monterrey (Itesme) – Mexico
7 – Universidad de Chile – Chile
8 – Universidad de Buenos Aires – Argentina
9 – Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
10 – Universidad Nacional de Colombia – Colombia
11 – Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho” – Brazil
12 – Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) – Brazil
13 – Universidad de Santiago de Chile (Usach) – Chile
14 – Universidad de Concepcion – Chile
15 – Universidad de Antioquia – Colombia
16 – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – Brazil
17 – Pontificia Universidad Javeriana – Colombia
18 – Universidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil
19 – Universidad de Costa Rica – Costa Rica
20 – Universidad de La Habana – Cuba