Sreng Mao; ACE/IDP

Established since 2004, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings is the only global university performance tables to judge world class universities across all of their core missions - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. They are trusted by students, academics, university leaders, and governments and are now regularly used by undergraduate and postgraduate students to help select degree courses.

A survey by the international student recruitment agency IDP found foreign students naming “international ranking/reputation of the institution” as the most important consideration in choosing where to study. “Global university rankings are one of the key influences on the decision-making of students and their parents,” says Kim Dienhoff, manager, communications and stakeholder relations at IDP. “They are powerful and useful, not only because they reduce a lot of complex information about universities to a headline ranking, but also because of the extra information that is available.”

Dienhoff warns however that rankings, although powerful, should not be relied on in isolation. She says that to ensure that students are matched with courses that best suit their individual needs. “Every student is different - with different interests, different ambitions, a different academic background and a different level of financial resources. Students are increasingly realising the value of reaching into the available data to find the best study solution for themselves - and the best course is not always from a highly ranked institution. We stress to students that the most important thing is to be driven by their own needs, rather than the general perceptions that are held about particular institutions.”

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013 show that all of the top 20 universities are located in the UK and the US; two of the leading IDP Study Abroad destinations. Of the top 50 universities, all except eight are located in the IDP Study Abroad destinations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

You can read the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-2013 online at http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking If you want to find out more about matching your study abroad needs with a particular institution, visit any one of the IDP (Cambodia) Study Abroad Resource Centres in Phnom Penh at the Santhor Mok or Samdech Pan campuses.