It is compiled by the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University since 2003. The main emphasis in the preparation of the rating is on the research activities of universities and the role of subjective assessments (various surveys) is reduced to zero. The most important indicators according to which the university is assigned a particular position include the number of Nobel Prize, Fields Medal winners among the staff and graduates, the number of frequently cited researchers, as well as publications in scientific journals (Nature, Science). The rating includes the total of 500 universities.

It is compiled by the British marketing company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) based on 6 indicators with different weights: academic reputation, reputation among employers, the ratio of faculty members and students, the percentage of foreign students, the percentage of foreign employees, the percentage of citations per teacher. Academic reputation of the university has the largest weight among all indicators (40%), it is calculated based on a survey in the scientific community. For the 2015/16 rating, about 76,800 responses were received. Reputation among employers is also calculated by surveying. 800 universities are represented in the ranking.

It is compiled by a team of analysts of the specialized British weekly publication Times Higher Education (THE). Assessment of universities is based on the analysis of their activities, as well as the annual global survey of experts, participated by about 10,000 members of the academic community. The rankings take into account 13 indicators, each of them has its own weight. Indicators are combined into 5 groups: teaching, research, citations, income from operations and internationalization (the proportion of foreign professors and students, the percentage of joint publications with international co-authors). Number of positions in the ranking – 800.