Cambridge University is the leading UK university for physics, according to the latest rankings from the Times Higher Education (THE).
The university slipped one place from last year to come in fifth in the table - while Oxford stayed steady in sixth place.
Imperial College London was the third UK institution in the top 10, making it into ninth place - up from 11th last year.
The table is dominated by US institutions which have claimed 115 of the 500 places.
Princeton University is in the top spot, while Harvard University, which was first last year, is now 2nd.
Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology take 3rd and 4th places, respectively, in a table which is based on teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
Top physics institutions
“Princeton University tops the table for the first time since 2015, overtaking both Harvard and Stanford universities. Princeton’s industry income score increased dramatically this year, while its teaching environment also improved,” Phil Baty, THE’s editorial director, global rankings, said.
Mr Baty added that in Europe, the UK was the top performer, with 50 of the top 500 places including three in the top 10.
In Asia, China and Singapore were: “serious competitors to some of the world’s top institutions”, with the National University of Singapore, Peking University and Tsinghua University the only institutions outside the US, UK and Switzerland, making it into the top 25.
The rankings have been expanded from 100 institutions last year to 500 this year, meaning several countries - such as India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain - appear in the table for the first time.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018: Physical Sciences
Rank 2018
Previous year
Institution
Country
1
3
Princeton University
US
2
1
Harvard University
US
3
2
Stanford University
US
4
5
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
US
5
4
University of Cambridge
UK
6
6
University of Oxford
UK
7
7
California Institute of Technology
US
8
8
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich
Switzerland
9
11
Imperial College, London
UK
10
12
University of Chicago
US
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