Moscow's National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) has taken 19th place in the Times Higher Education's World's Best Small Universities Ranking for 2016. The Times Higher Education (THE) defines small universities as having fewer than 5,000 students, with teaching and research across more than four academic disciplines.
The ranking, published here at the end of January, highlights the wide range of academic opportunities that smaller universities can offer to students.
THE only lists 20 small universities as world-class institutions in its Top 800 World University Rankings.
First place was taken by the California Institute of Technology, which also tops the table of the THE World University Rankings. Five American universities are in the top 20, followed by eight from Europe and seven from Asia. MISiS is the sole Russian institute to feature in the small universities ranking table.
?€?It is great news that Russia is represented by MISiS in the World's Best Small Universities Ranking 2016. Alongside Caltech, it demonstrates the world-class offering available at smaller institutions, no matter their location.?€? Phil Baty, THE rankings editor told The Moscow Times.
The university was established in 1918 as part of the Moscow Mining Academy and remains Russia's primary technological university in the field of metallurgy and mining. The research teams from the university include both graduate and undergraduate students. The institute offers courses in both English and Russian.
"Our goal is to establish a creative environment which will allow our students to reveal their hidden talents. That`s why at MISiS we create a system of interaction with students which will help to uncover their potential," said Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of MISiS, in a written statement to The Moscow Times.
The universities which feature in the ranking are judged according to thirteen performance indicators. The parameters used in the ranking process include staff-to-student ratios, the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded and the international outlook of the university.
The success of MISiS in the small universities ranking comes just months after Moscow State University climbed 35 places to 161st on the THE World University Rankings for 2015-16.