For the Dutch universities at the top of the Chinese world ranking, little has changed. Utrecht University dropped one spot to number 56, and the University of Groningen fell from 69 to 73. The seven other Dutch universities in the top 200 maintained their positions.

The shifts occurred further down the ranking. Maastricht University has dropped out of the top 300 and is now in the group ranked between 301 and 400. TU/e, on the other hand, gained ground and moved up into that same top 400. The University of Twente fell behind and is no longer among the top 500. Tilburg University remains the lowest-ranked (701–800).

Value

The question is how much weight these rankings really carry. According to critics, you can’t sum up a university’s quality with a single score. The criteria may be arbitrary or may not measure what really matters. That’s why Utrecht University no longer participates in rankings that require universities to submit their own data.

The Shanghai Ranking does not have that issue, as it uses only publicly available data. The creators look at factors such as how many Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals have been awarded to alumni and staff. They also count the number of publications in prestigious journals like Nature and Science.

Other rankings consider factors like reputation, internationalization, and collaboration with industry. How much weight you assign to such criteria is indeed somewhat arbitrary. The Leiden Ranking, for instance, allows you to customize and create your own lists based on personal priorities.

Trump

Still, it says something that Harvard University has topped the list for many years. The question is what will happen now that U.S. President Donald Trump has launched an attack on the university. He has threatened major funding cuts and previously tried to expel international students studying there (although a judge blocked that move).

The anti-science climate in the United States — where even using certain terms like “diversity” can lead to loss of public funding — will almost certainly have a negative impact on the ranking positions of American universities.

On the other hand, their position is so strong that they can take a hit. Eight of the top ten universities are American, with the UK’s Cambridge and Oxford filling out the rest. The first non-Anglo-Saxon university appears at number 13: France’s Paris-Saclay University. China now has six universities in the top 50.

Budget Cuts

It’s also unclear what will happen to Dutch universities, given the government’s budget cuts. The effects of such policies — whether extra investment or cutbacks — usually only become apparent in the longer term.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.