STAGE 2025 World University Rankings Methodology

Ranking Methodology

The Strategic Trends in Academic Global Excellence (or STAGE) 2025 World University Rankings present a uniquely comprehensive and forward-looking evaluation of global higher education institutions. This methodology reflects traditional academic indicators and emerging societal, geopolitical, and student-centred factors, offering a more holistic view of institutional performance and relevance in today's global landscape.

Core Parameters and Weightings

We group our indicators into five core parameters, each capturing critical dimensions of university excellence and impact:

1. Student Outcomes (25%)

This category evaluates how well universities prepare students for meaningful and sustainable careers in a competitive global market. It includes:

• Employment Prestige: Employer reputation and brand strength
  
  
• Career Outcomes: Graduate employability and long-term success
  
  
• Student Satisfaction: Teaching engagement, outcomes, and value perception
  
  
• Post-Study Work Opportunities: National migration and visa policies that affect international graduates
  
  

2. Teaching Quality (20%)

This parameter assesses the academic environment and the quality of teaching and scholarship, integrating:

• Academic Citations: Research visibility and influence
  
  
• Research Quality: Innovation, depth, and impact of academic output
  
  
• Teaching Quality: Curriculum strength and delivery effectiveness
  
  
• Academic Prestige: Peer-reviewed reputation at the global level
  
  

3. Access and Equity (15%)

This dimension focuses on inclusivity and the institution’s ability to provide equal opportunities regardless of background or geography:

• Inclusivity: Representation of international and underrepresented students
  
  
• Political Influence: Governmental support, soft power, and systemic openness
  
  

4. Global Impact (20%)

Measures a university’s footprint and influence across borders, evaluating:

• International collaborations and networks
  
  
• Contributions to global research and societal challenges
  
  
• Transnational presence and policy relevance
  
  

5. Safety and Bias (20%)

This forward-thinking dimension incorporates environmental and social considerations that affect both students and staff:

• Campus and regional safety
  
  
• Discrimination and bias prevention
  
  
• Academic freedom
  
  
• Cultural openness and resilience
  
  

A New Lens on Global Rankings

What sets this ranking apart is its integration of geopolitical context, including:

• Migration and visa policies that affect post-study mobility
  
  
• Shifting labour markets and long-term employment trends
  
  
• National soft power and political influence on academic and economic opportunity
  
  

By embedding these variables into the ranking algorithm, STAGE 2025 becomes the first global university ranking system to account for the real-world conditions shaping student experiences and institutional success in a rapidly evolving world.

Data Collection and Processing Approach:

1. Student Outcomes

This dimension evaluates how well institutions prepare students for long-term success. Data sources include:
- Employment and career progression indicators (taken from LinkedIn, Glassdoor and other global and regional sources)
- Graduate employability statistics from national and institutional reports
- Student satisfaction and experience metrics (direct and indirect surveys plus data sources like NSS UK, i-graduate barometer, ratemyprofessors)
- Post-study work opportunities based on national migration policy and visa frameworks

These indicators are normalised and aggregated to reflect both near-term and sustainable career trajectories, especially for international students.

2. Teaching Quality

This dimension includes:
- Faculty-student ratios
- Research productivity and teaching engagement
- Academic recognition and peer standing
- Field-weighted citation impact and knowledge dissemination

We use bibliometric data, national reports, and institutionally published teaching and research outcomes to assess overall teaching and scholarly effectiveness.

3. Access and Equity

This score combines:
- International student representation and accessibility data (including data mined from OECD Education, UIS, amongst other regional/national data sources)
- Equity policies related to gender, socio-economic background, and underrepresented groups
- Country-level openness and political inclusiveness (e.g., global democracy indices, freedom of movement)

The aim is to measure both the structural accessibility of an institution and the inclusiveness of its national context.

4. Global Impact

This category assesses:
- The scale and diversity of international research collaborations
- Cross-border institutional partnerships and networks
- Outreach, policy influence, and global service initiatives

Indicators are adjusted for institutional size and region to provide a fair basis for comparison.

5. Safety and Bias

This is a distinctive dimension within STAGE. It captures:
- Physical safety and socio-political stability in the host country
- Academic freedom, freedom of expression, and institutional transparency
- Evidence of bias or discrimination in higher education policy or practice

We incorporate internationally recognised indices and academic freedom assessments to ensure objectivity