Top 10 Universities in the World

List of Top 10 Universities in the World. Here is a list of some of the top-rated Universities in the world. Before coming to any conclusion about the quality of education offered by these universities, one should remember that rankings of universities can differ with the use of different criteria.

1. California Institute of Technology. The California Institute of Technology, also known as Caltech is set in a suburban area of Pasadena, California. Caltech stood 1st in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Thirty-one of Caltech's alumni (including the faculty) have received the Nobel Prize. The number of students that get enrolled for undergraduate programs in this university is 978.

2. Harvard University. Established in 1636, Harvard University is one of the members of the Ivy League. Every year, 7181 students take ad-mission for graduate programs; 14 044 students take admission for postgraduate programs. Harvard has the largest academic library in the United States. It is also the oldest institute in USA for higher studies; the university completed 375 years in 2011. Harvard's financial endowment is higher than that of any other university in the world. Its September 2011 figures for financial endowment were $32 billion. This university is named after its first benefactor, John Harvard.

3. Stanford University. This university was established in 1891; the Stanford University or Leland Stanford Junior University was named after Leland Stanford's son, Leland Stanford Jr. who died of typhoid at an early age of 15 years. The university enrolls around 8 300 graduates and 6 800 undergraduates annually. Students from Stanford have been placed in reputed organizations like Google, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. The different schools which form the Stanford university are «Stanford School of Medicine», «Stanford Law School», Stanford School of Engineering' and «Stanford Graduate School of Business». Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google Inc. are the alumni of Stanford university.

4. University of Oxford. The exact year of establishment of Oxford is not known. However, it is said to date back to 1096. Oxford is the oldest surviving university from the English-speaking countries. The total number of students enrolling for different courses in the University of Oxford annually is over 21 000. There is always a great competition between Oxford and Cambridge to gain the top spot in UK's top universities' list. The University of Oxford's endowment for 2011 was $5.33 billion.

5. Princeton University. Founded in 1746, Princeton University is the 4th oldest university in USA; it is one of the members of the prestigious Ivy League. This university offers undergraduate and graduate programs in humanities, engineering, natural sciences and social sciences. The number of students admitted for undergraduate and graduate programs in the Princeton University is 5 000 and 2 500 respectively.

6. University of Cambridge. The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209. An association formed by a group of scholars grew into what is today's University of Cambridge. The number of students enrolled in the University of Cambridge annually is 18 396. Cambridge is the
second-oldest university in all the English-speaking countries. This university has produced 61 Nobel laureates. The university's endowment
for 2011 was $6.95 billion.

7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT is considered as one of the best universities for higher education. The 68 hectare campus of MIT houses a college and
5 schools which have 32 departments. The number of students admitted for various courses in MIT is 10 894. The university has produced 75 Nobel laureates; thirty-one 'MacArthur Fellows' and 47 recipients of «National Medal of Science». The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 1861 and students were first admitted in this institute in 1865. Meeting the demands and challenges of industrialization in America was one of the needs and also a driving force behind the establishment of this university.

8. Imperial College London. Established on July 8, 1907, the Imperial College London admits 13 500 full-time students for different programs. This public research university houses 40 departments grouped under
4 units – Imperial College Business School, Imperial College Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine and Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences. This university is amongst the top three in the United Kingdom.

9. University of Chicago. Founded by the American Baptist Education Society in 1890, the University of Chicago spreads over an area of
85.4 hectares. The university was set up with the help of a donation
received from John D. Rockefeller. This university has produced 87 Nobel Laureates and 49 Rhodes Scholars. The number of undergraduates and graduates enrolled annually is 5 369 and 9 850 respectively.

10. University of California. The University of California offers
300 graduate and undergraduate programs. It is set in a sprawling campus of 2 692 hectares. The university admits 25 530 and 10 313 students for graduate and postgraduate programs respectively. As per the Academic Ranking of World Universities, University of California, Berkeley is placed in the 3rd position. The University of California, Berkeley has produced 65 Nobel laureates. Many of its students got placed in companies like Google, Apple Inc., Adobe Systems, Intel and Sun Microsystems.
The University of California is well-known for its research activities
and projects. The money spent on research activities in 2009 was over
$650 million.

Other Important Universities in the World

There are many institutions and colleges, apart from those mentioned above, that offer quality education. Not all of them make it to the list of top 10 universities in the world. Here are the details of few such universities.

Cornell University. The Cornell University, which is located in Ithaca, New York, was founded by Ezra Cornell in 1865. Every year, 20,633 students are admitted for different courses in the Cornell university. A variety of courses that range from agriculture, liberal arts, engineering to hotel administration are offered by the university. There are 7 graduate divisions and an equal number of undergraduate colleges in the Cornell University.

Yale University. Yale is the 3rd oldest university in USA. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, the university is set in a sprawling 339 hectare campus. Many prominent personalities including 5 presidents of USA have studied in Yale. The university was established in 1701.

Shanghai Jiao Tong. University One of the oldest universities in China, Shanghai Jiao Tong is a member of the C9 League. This league is formed of top universities from China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is
a public university founded in 1896, followed by issuing of an edict by Guangxu Emperor. The university offers a variety of courses ranging from medicine, engineering, agriculture, law to humanities.

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoBased in Mexico City, the «Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico» or «National Autonomous University of Mexico» is the largest university in America in terms of student enrollment. For the academic year 2011-12, 324 413 students were admitted for different courses in the university. Justo Sierra founded this university on 22nd September, 1910. The campus of Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México is declared as a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO.

To be read after Units 7 – 8

Text 1. Joseph Monier (1823 – 1906)

Joseph Monier, born 1823 was a French gardener and one of the principal inventors of reinforced concrete. Joseph was one of ten children born to a family of horticulturists. All hands being needed in the fields, Joseph was not sent to school. By the age of 17 he had proved his worth as a gardener, and the duke offered him a post at his mansion in Paris. Joseph took the opportunity to attend evening classes and learned to read and write.

As a gardener, Monier was not satisfied with the materials available for making flowerpots. He began making cement pots and tubs, but these were not stable enough. In order to strengthen the cement containers, he experimented with embedded iron mesh. He was not the first to experiment with reinforced concrete, but he saw some of the possibilities in the technique, and promoted it extensively.

Monier exhibited his invention at the Paris Exposition of 1867. He
obtained his first patent on July 16, 1867, on iron-reinforced troughs for horticulture. He continued to find new uses for the material, and obtained more patents – iron-reinforced cement pipes and basins, iron-reinforced cement panels for building façades, bridges made of iron-reinforced cement, reinforced concrete beams. In 1875 the first iron-reinforced cement bridge ever built was constructed at the Castle of Chazelet. Monier was the designer.

Another application in 1878 covered reinforced concrete railway sleepers. When granted, this became the basis for a series of further additions. It contained a clear statement that the cement protected the iron against rusting.

As municipalities expanded their water supply and sewerage networks, there was a growing need for pipes, but a diminishing need for reservoir tanks. Monier was obliged to go further from urban areas in search of clients. In 1886 he was granted Patent for a system applicable to housing. Monier described the house as proof against earthquakes, ice, humidity, heat, and fire and received a commission to build such a house in Nice, possibly as a result of a recent earthquake. Monier’s second son Paul asked to work on this project.

On 24 November 1887, Paul was killed when he fell from the scaffol-ding. As Monier’s eldest son, Pierre, had severed his relationship with his father over a family argument, Joseph found himself with no sons of
working age to help him in the business.

In June 1888, the firm of J Monier constructeur was declared bankrupt, and in April 1889 went into liquidation. However, in 1890 he formed
a new firm.

Monier took out patents in many countries, throughout Europe and overseas. Some of these were registered in the name of the patent agent, in accordance with local law, the British patent of 1883 being in the name of John Imray. Typically, patents were valid for 15 years, but it was necessary to pay a significant yearly fee to maintain them. Monier opted to sell his rights outside France to local businessmen and engineers.

Reinforced concrete is one the most important inventions of the
mankind.