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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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.
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
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.
