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Top universities with the best student-to-staff ratio 2024

Data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings reveal the top universities with the best student-to-staff ratios

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February 21 2024
Top universities for best student to staff ratio

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Top 10 universities with the best student-to-staff ratios 2024

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Staff-to-student ratio rank 2024 Staff-to-student ratio rank 2023 University Country/region Number of students to one member of staff
1 NR Brighton and Sussex Medical School United Kingdom 0.3
2 =1 St Marianna University School of Medicine Japan 0.8
=3 =1 Jikei University School of Medicine Japan 0.9
=3 =1 Nippon Medical School Japan 0.9
=3 4 Oregon Health and Science University United States 0.9
6 5 Dokkyo Medical University Japan 1.2
7 7 Saitama Medical University Japan 1.4
=8 8 Showa University Japan 1.6
=8 NR Qazvin University of Medical Sciences Iran 1.6
=8 6 Kansai Medical University Japan 1.6

A lower student-to-staff ratio can make it easier for students to cultivate close relationships with their lecturers, receive prompt feedback on essays and assignments and get involved in more interactive seminars and discussions.

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Times Higher Education has created this table of universities with the best student-to-staff ratios in the world to help students work out which institutions might be best placed to provide this kind of learning environment.

The list has been compiled using data from the latest THE World University Rankings. As part of the rankings, THE collects information on the number of staff and students at each university, and from this we can calculate the student-to-staff ratios. The full methodology of the World University Rankings can be found here. The table below shows the number of students per member of staff for each university.

All the top 10 universities are specialist medical institutions. Because these universities combine practical experience alongside theoretical learning, it might be that they require more staff to support this teaching structure.

It is also the case that many specialist universities have smaller student bodies, with higher numbers of teaching staff. However, some institutions on this list – such as Duke University and Vanderbilt University – have large student populations (more than 12,000 each), so this isn’t always the case.

Japan dominates the list, with 31 universities featured. The US comes second with 21 universities. The rest of the top 100 features universities from France, South Korea, India, the UK and China. 

The top five universities with the best student-to-staff ratios

=3. Oregon Health and Science University

This is a public university with a main campus and two hospitals in Portland, Oregon, US. It was founded in 1887.

The institution offers degree programmes in dentistry, medicine and nursing. It is a functioning hospital, simultaneously treating patients, training healthcare professionals and conducting important healthcare research.

Oregon Health and Science University is also one of the largest employers in the state and has launched many community programmes to improve the health of Oregon’s residents.

The university’s Knight Cancer Institute has been a pioneer in medicine through a discovery that identified how to shut down cells that enable cancer to grow without harming healthy ones. Scientists from its Brain Institute are also nationally recognised for discoveries that have led to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.

=3. Nippon Medical School

A private medical school in Tokyo, this is Japan’s oldest private medical university, having been founded in 1876.

The university has two campuses. Musashisakai is about 40 minutes west of the city centre and is where first-year undergraduates take courses in basic sciences and liberal arts.

From the second year to the sixth year, medical training takes place at the Sendagi campus, which is closer to central Tokyo and near the university hospital. Sendagi is also home to the university’s graduate school and its International Exchange Centre.

=3. Jikei University School of Medicine

This is a private university in Minato, Tokyo. The word “jikei” means “mercy and love” in Japanese.

With 2,700 beds and 7,500 outpatients a day, Jikei University Hospital is considered one of the country’s largest educational hospital systems. The university also has international student exchange programmes with the University of Leeds in the UK.

Jikei has four university hospitals – Katsushika Medical Center, Daisan Hospital in Chofu Komae, the Kashiwa Hospital in Chiba and the Jikei University School of Medicine Triton Clinic in Harumi.

2. St Marianna University School of Medicine

Founded in 1971, this is Japan’s only medical university with a Christian ethos, being affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.

In addition to medical studies, the institution offers a degree in comparative religious studies.

The curriculum consists of initial practical training in the first three years and clinical clerkship in the latter three years.

Associated medical facilities consist of four hospitals and one clinic, all but one of which are in Kawasaki City: St Marianna University Hospital, St Marianna University Toyoko Hospital, St Marianna University Advanced Breast Imaging Center, Kawasaki Municipal Tama Hospital and St Marianna University Yokohama City Seibu Hospital. There is also a nursing junior college and a graduate school.

1. Brighton and Sussex Medical School

This UK institution takes first place for the first time in this year’s student-to-staff ratio ranking. 

It was formed in 2003 out of a partnership between the Universities of Sussex and Brighton, as well as surrounding NHS organisations.

It runs a five-year undergraduate medical degree where students will learn about the functions of the human body, with weekly clinical groups focusing on specific medical conditions. Students will also undertake work placements at the Royal Sussex County Hospital to gain practical experience and develop their clinical skills. 

The university also offers a range of postgraduate full-time and part-time taught degrees in a range of subjects including cardiology, internal medicine, public health, psychiatry and more. 


The top 100 universities with the best student-to-staff ratios 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 profile

Staff-to-student ratio rank 2024 Staff-to-student ratio rank 2023 University Country/region Number of students to one member of staff
1 NR Brighton and Sussex Medical School United Kingdom 0.3
2 =1 St Marianna University School of Medicine Japan 0.8
=3 =1 Jikei University School of Medicine Japan 0.9
=3 =1 Nippon Medical School Japan 0.9
=3 4 Oregon Health and Science University United States 0.9
6 5 Dokkyo Medical University Japan 1.2
7 7 Saitama Medical University Japan 1.4
=8 8 Showa University Japan 1.6
=8 NR Qazvin University of Medical Sciences Iran 1.6
=8 6 Kansai Medical University Japan 1.6
11 =9 Guangzhou Medical University China 1.7
12 11 University of Nebraska Medical Center United States 2
=13 12 Rush University United States 2.1
=13 =13 Kanazawa Medical University Japan 2.1
15 15 University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan Japan 2.5
16 16 Aichi Medical University Japan 2.9
=17 =19 Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Japan 3.2
=17 17 Shiga University of Medical Science Japan 3.2
19 18 Sapporo Medical University Japan 3.3
20 =9 Tokyo Medical University Japan 3.4
21 =21 Fujita Health University Japan 3.6
=22 =25 Duke University United States 3.9
=22 =19 Kerman University of Medical Sciences Iran 3.9
=22 =21 Vanderbilt University United States 3.9
25 =25 Emory University United States 4
=26 24 Wake Forest University United States 4.1
=26 =30 Hamamatsu University School of Medicine Japan 4.1
=26 34 Johns Hopkins University United States 4.1
29 =30 Montanuniversität Leoben Austria 4.2
=30 =25 University of Copenhagen Denmark 4.3
=30 NR Wakayama Medical University Japan 4.3
32 28 Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) Japan 4.4
33 =21 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus United States 4.5
=34 NR National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan 4.6
=34 NR Hyogo Medical University Japan 4.6
36 =30 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Sweden 4.7
37 35 Capital Medical University China 4.9
38 =30 Juntendo University Japan 5
=39 36 Kitasato University Japan 5.2
=39 29 Columbia University United States 5.2
=39 =43 Yale University United States 5.2
=42 =38 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh campus United States 5.4
=42 40 Medical University of Gdańsk Poland 5.4
45 =38 Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University Japan 5.5
46 37 SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) United Kingdom 5.6
=47 NR Medical University of Lublin Poland 5.7
=47 NR Medical University of Sofia Bulgaria 5.7
=47 =48 Acıbadem University Turkey 5.7
=50 41 Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Kazakhstan 5.9
=50 NR Al-Nahrain University Iraq 5.9
=52 =45 Poznan University of Medical Sciences Poland 6
=52 =45 Yokohama City University Japan 6
54 50 California Institute of Technology United States 6.1
=55 =45 The University of Chicago United States 6.2
=55 =48 University of Yamanashi Japan 6.2
=55 54 Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iran 6.2
=55 =51 University of Pennsylvania United States 6.2
59 NR Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) South Korea 6.3
=60 NR Universidade Lusófona Portugal 6.4
=60 =68 Stanford University United States 6.4
=60 NR Medical University of Warsaw Poland 6.4
=63 =55 University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland Switzerland 6.5
=63 =68 Mustansiriyah University Iraq 6.5
68 =58 Nagasaki University Japan 6.7
=69 =58 Institut Polytechnique de Paris France 6.8
=69 =62 Hellenic Open University Greece 6.8
=69 =58 IPB University Indonesia 6.8
=69 57 El Bosque University Colombia 6.8
=73 =65 University of Technology, Iraq Iraq 6.9
=76 =72 Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences India 7.1
=76 NR Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Indonesia 7.1
=78 =79 Niigata University Japan 7.2
=78 =84 Universitas Airlangga Indonesia 7.2
=78 =100 Icesi University Colombia 7.2
=81 =94 Acharya Nagarjuna University India 7.3
=81 NR Bharati Vidyapeeth University India 7.3
=81 =72 Saint Louis University United States 7.3
=81 =89 Washington University in St Louis United States 7.3
=81 =100 Princeton University United States 7.3
=81 =89 Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Peru 7.3
=81 =84 University of Rochester United States 7.3
=81 =79 Medical University of Silesia in Katowice Poland 7.3
=89 NR Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies – Pisa Italy 7.4
=89 =75 Nagoya City University Japan 7.4
=89 NR University of South China China 7.4
=89 =75 University of Miyazaki Japan 7.4
=89 =79 Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Italy 7.4
=89 =89 Dartmouth College United States 7.4
=89 =72 Arak University of Medical Sciences Iran 7.4
=96 NR Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education India 7.5
=96 =55 Sofia University Bulgaria 7.5
=98 =84 Gunma University Japan 7.6
=98 NR Hiroshima University Japan 7.6
=98 =100 University of Fukui Japan 7.6

Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian and Belarusian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian and Belarusian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.


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