The 2022 edition of the QS World University Subject Rankings has named ETH Zurich as the best place in the world to study earth and marine sciences, geology and geophysics. Based on their share of top 10 programmes, Swiss universities overall are the third-best in the world.

ETH Zurich praised for cutting edge research and innovation

The QS World University Subject Rankings is one of the most significant university rankings in the world. To determine each university's position on the list, student evaluations and surveys are used to calculate a score in six categories. These range from academic reputation to ratios of students to faculty members, research statistics, the number of internationals among staff and in the student body, and how well-received graduates are when they look for a job.

In the report, QS said that ETH Zurich was one of the leading universities in the world for science and technology and “is known for its cutting-edge research and innovation.” The report praised ETH for its combination of “solid theory” and “practical application,” and the selection of events it offers in and around Zurich.

31 top courses available from Swiss universities

According to the ranking, ETH is the best place in the world to study earth and marine sciences, geology and geophysics. Switzerland overall had 31 university programmes in the top 10 in their field, making Switzerland arguably the third best university system in the world. In the overall ranking released in June 2021, ETH Zurich was ranked as the joint eighth best university in the world, the only one outside of the UK and US to occupy the top 10.

The overall subject ranking had the United States and the United Kingdom with the highest number of courses in the top 10, with 239 and 131 respectively. While most of Switzerland's top 10 performances came from ETH, universities in Geneva, Basel, Lausanne and Bern all performed strongly in the ranking overall.

Countries with the highest number of top university courses

According to the latest ranking by QS, these are the countries with the most programmes in the top 10:

1. United States (239)
2. United Kingdom (131)
3. Switzerland (31)
4. Singapore (23)
5. Canada (19)
6. The Netherlands (15)
7. Australia (13)
8. Hong Kong (7)
9. France (6)
10. Italy (6)

For more information on how the ranking is calculated, check out the QS website.