Updated on: Monday, March 14, 2011
Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the US, has been ranked as the world's top varsity.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology made it to number two, with the University of California Berkeley coming in at number four in the list of top 10 most highly regarded universities in the world.
Britain's prestigious Cambridge University and Oxford University ranked three and six respectively, with University of Tokyo in Japan securing eighth place in 'The Times Higher Education' world reputation rankings.
In total, the US had a massive 45 universities in the top 100, while the UK had 12 and Japan had five. Australia, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands each had four universities in the top 100 rankings based on a survey of 13,388 academics from 131 countries, the 'Daily Mail' online reported.
"In an ever more competitive global market for students, academics and university administrators, and at a time when the answers to the world's most pressing problems will come from putting together the best brains wherever in the world they may be based, a university's reputation for academic excellence is crucial," Phil Baty, editor of 'The Times Higher Education' world university rankings, said.