Penn was recently ranked the 11th-best university in the world, by the Times Higher Education, a London-based higher-education magazine, and Quacquarelli Symonds, a global career and education network. The new ranking represents a three-place improvement over last year.
The ranking is based on peer and employee review as well as data on the school's research output, teaching, and international orientation.
The survey ranked 200 schools in 32 countries.
Harvard University took the top slot, followed by Yale University. The California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University also all ranked in the top 10.
"Rankings can only touch the surface in telling the story of a university, but it is nonetheless satisfying to see Penn listed among the world's truly exceptional institutions of higher education," Penn President Amy Gutmann said.
Penn received one of the highest scores in the citations per faculty category in the rankings, earning 99 out of 100 points. According to QS, citations are "the best understood and most widely accepted measure of research strength."
*This article was edited at 8:16 p.m. on Monday, October 13, 2008 to reflect that more than one school received scores of 100 in the citations per faculty category and to clarify that the category is an indicator of research strength.
