Internationalisation is not simply about having a large number of international students. QS and Times Higher Education (THE) both measure multiple dimensions, including students, staff and cross-border research networks.
In brief: QS gives Global Engagement a combined 15% weighting, while THE assigns 7.5% to International Outlook. Both look beyond student nationality alone.
How does QS measure internationalisation?
QS currently assigns 15% to Global Engagement:
- International Faculty Ratio 5%
- International Research Network 5%
- International Student Ratio 5%
- International Student Diversity 0% in the current overall weighting
What does International Faculty Ratio indicate?
QS uses the ratio of international faculty to overall academic staff as a signal of an institution’s ability to attract scholars from abroad. International faculty can contribute to teaching diversity, research collaboration and global networks.
International Research Network is about sustained relationships
QS uses International Research Network to assess the diversity and richness of a university’s cross-border research partnerships. It considers both the number of countries represented and whether those relationships are sustained over time. QS defines sustained partnerships as those generating at least three joint papers within a five-year period.
How does THE measure International Outlook?
THE World University Rankings 2027 allocates 7.5% to International Outlook:
- International students: 2.5%
- International staff: 2.5%
- International collaboration: 2.5%
Do more international students automatically mean a higher score?
No. Both systems use several dimensions. A university may enrol many international students but have limited international faculty or research collaboration.
Do lots of MOUs improve rankings?
MOUs alone are not the central metric in these overall rankings. What matters more is observable international activity: international staff and students, sustained collaboration and internationally co-authored research.
Conclusion
Internationalisation in rankings is about the depth and quality of a university’s global connections, not simply the number of foreign nationals on campus.
Official sources
Verified: 5 November 2026