Reuters Ranks Top 100 Innovative Universities

On Sept. 15, Reuters published a list on of the world's most innovative universities.

Innovation is a subjective measure, so researchers from the Intellectual & Science business of Thompson Reuters attempted to quantify the term through the measurement of 10 metrics, such as patent volume, patent success and percent of patents cited. Five hundred academic and government organizations were used as the starting point for research; those organizations were chosen for having published the most articles in scholarly journals between 2008 and 2013. The list was whittled down to 100 of the most prolific and influential, and ranked.

Stanford ranked highest, edging out technology institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; 2nd place) and Harvard (3rd place) by scoring consistently well across all criteria, and especially high in the area of research impact, as Stanford's articles are frequently cited around the world.

Half of the list's institutions can be found Canada, Europe, and Asia, with nine Japanese institutions making the list. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) was the only non-U.S. school to make the top 10.

Here's the top 10:

1. Stanford University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
3. Harvard University
4. University of Washington
5. University of Michigan System
6. Northwestern University
7. University of Texas System
8. University of Wisconsin System
9. University of Pennsylvania
10. Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)

Check out the Reuters article for the full list, research methodology and more information.