Harvard Tops 2019 Best Global Universities Rankings

People who love travel and adventure are often excited by the possibility of earning an academic degree at a college or university far away from their home country. A growing share of the world's undergraduate and graduate students are opting to attend schools that are thousands of miles away from home.Between 1999 and 2016, the number of international students who enrolled at higher education institutions worldwide increased rapidly, rising from 2 million to 5 million, according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in September.Higher education experts say students should understand both the potential benefits of earning a degree overseas, such as strengthened foreign language skills, and the possible downsides, such as travel costs. Prospective students can find guidance about which international schools are world-renowned by examining the fifth edition of the U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings, released today.The overall ranking includes 1,250 schools spread across 75 countries. U.S. News also offers rankings specific to particular countries, geographic regions and academic disciplines.The 2019 Best Global Universities rankings are based on data and metrics provided by Clarivate Analytics InCites. The methodology differs from that used to calculate other U.S. News rankings, such as Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools, in that the Best Global Universities rankings are entirely based on schools' academic research performance, such as highly cited papers, and global and regional research reputations. These are not ratings of specific undergraduate or graduate programs.