Cambridge edges Harvard as top university

Cambridge University has edged out Harvard to become the first non-U.S. university to top a global ranking, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The British-based Cambridge knocked Harvard out of the top spot for the first time in the seven-year history of the QS World University Rankings released by the London consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, AFP reported.

The survey, which in previous years had been conducted with The Times of London, had six American and four British schools in the top 10, the report said.

U.S.-based Yale University was ranked third, followed by University College London, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Imperial College London, the University of Chicago, California Institute of Technology and Princeton University, it said.

Another widely recognized survey by the Chinese-based Jiaotong University's Center for World-Class Universities last month showed Harvard at the top for the eighth straight year, drawing criticism in Europe because it relied largely on scientific research, AFP said.

Eight of the top 10 in the Chinese survey were U.S. universities, with Cambridge ranked fifth and Oxford 10th, it said.