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I thought everyone knew that the U.S. had the bulk of the world's top universities.
And, yeah, that's part of the reason the U.S. is comparatively wealthy and innovative, and why it's tough for Europe and East Asia to compete in terms of skilled technical employment.
Most of those PhD students stay in the U.S. and eventually benefit the economy. Many (most?) new companies in the U.S. are founded by highly educated immigrants (think Google, Chobani, Tesla, Instagram, etc.)
Depends on the meaning of the title question. The USA does not fund any, they are funded by private endowments, state/local-level governments, and student tuitions.. A little bit of federal funding, under land grants, etc.
There are no economically developed nations with anywhere near the sheer population enormity of the USA, so for total, the USA by default leads in everything that costs money, by a wide margin.
Depends on the meaning of the title question. The USA does not fund any, they are funded by private endowments, state/local-level governments, and student tuitions.. A little bit of federal funding, under land grants, etc.
Not true. There is huge federal funding for U.S. universities, both public and private. Major universities receive billions every year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88
There are no economically developed nations with anywhere near the sheer population enormity of the USA, so for total, the USA by default leads in everything that costs money, by a wide margin.
I don't think it has much to do with population.
Europe has twice the population of the U.S., and China has four times the population of the U.S., yet none of these areas come close to having as many prestigious research institutions.
And the nation with the second best universities is the UK, and the UK doesn't have a large population.
Not true. There is huge federal funding for U.S. universities, both public and private. Major universities receive billions every year.
I don't think it has much to do with population.
Europe has twice the population of the U.S., and China has four times the population of the U.S., yet none of these areas come close to having as many prestigious research institutions.
And the nation with the second best universities is the UK, and the UK doesn't have a large population.
Europe as an aggregate includes highly advanced societies like Germany, France, the UK, Scandanavia, Switzerland and the Netherlands...as well as relatively less developed nations like Portugal and Poland, as well as relatively impoverished countries like Albania and the Ukraine. It's difficult to compare ALL of Europe to the US when the they're at different levels of development.
Also notable is the fact that even though the US has many of the world's best universities...a relatively large percentage of those students aren't American. Actual American students perform quite poorly in the sciences and maths...walk around the engineering department of any major university and you won't see that many Americans there at all.
I know most of the money of the top US universities comes from private hands, not from the government.
But what I mean is that no other country in the world has universities that are nearly as rich as the US universities.
The US has a considerable number of extremelly wealthy universities, at least a dozen of them, and those universities have funds that can't be even dreamed by the universities of other countries.
The US is miles and miles ahead of any possible "second place" in terms of financial resources for top universities.
And that is probably one of the main reasons why the US has such a "supremacy" in the world.
Europe as an aggregate includes highly advanced societies like Germany, France, the UK, Scandanavia, Switzerland and the Netherlands...as well as relatively less developed nations like Portugal and Poland, as well as relatively impoverished countries like Albania and the Ukraine. It's difficult to compare ALL of Europe to the US when the they're at different levels of development.
Western Europe is not vastly less developed than the U.S. (some would argue in terms of social equality and other factors it's more developed) and Western Europe has 100 million more people than the U.S., yet there are far fewer prestigious universities.
Outside of Oxbridge (and even there it's more a reputation issue than reality) there is no European university comparable to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Caltech, MIT, and a few others. There are many excellent European universities but none at that level.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lexdiamondz1902
Also notable is the fact that even though the US has many of the world's best universities...a relatively large percentage of those students aren't American. Actual American students perform quite poorly in the sciences and maths...walk around the engineering department of any major university and you won't see that many Americans there at all.
Well, yeah, that's kind of the whole point. U.S. universities receive the world's top students, so the % of Americans in the top technical disciplines tends to be relatively low. If U.S. students dominated the best PhD programs in the U.S. then obviously these universities wouldn't be attracting the world's best.
The top universities in the USA are EXTREMELLY wealthy.
I'm talking about Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, University of Texas, University of California, Texas A&M, Columbia....
Is there any country in the world that comes even close to the USA in terms of funding of top universities?
Can those extremelly wealthy universities explain in part the "supremacy of the USA in the world?
Well sure we have massive funding. The majority of these top tier ivy league schools are primarily funded by endowments from CEO's/rich/successful people who went there. It has both the network effect of attracting great talent and recruiting the top companies.
Of course education is a major factor in having an advantage. Look at every developed nation and you will see that is true. Switzerland, Uk etc. have good schools and they do well. Nothing crazy about that.
Outside of Oxbridge (and even there it's more a reputation issue than reality) there is no European university comparable to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, Caltech, MIT, and a few others. There are many excellent European universities but none at that level.
Sounds like you just consider the UK Oxbridge/US Harvard - Yale et al model to be "best".
Many countries have dynamic industries and societies that are driven and sustained by graduates of universities founded and funded on very different models. So from a broader socio/economic perspective, I don't see how you can consider those institutions to be in any way inherently "inferior".
Well sure we have massive funding. The majority of these top tier ivy league schools are primarily funded by endowments from CEO's/rich/successful people who went there. It has both the network effect of attracting great talent and recruiting the top companies.
Of course education is a major factor in having an advantage. Look at every developed nation and you will see that is true. Switzerland, Uk etc. have good schools and they do well. Nothing crazy about that.
Yes, education is very important, of course.
But a dozen top tier higher education institutions with ULTRA MEGA HYPER MASSIVE FUNDING is a thing that only the USA has... And gives the USA a tremendous advantage to keep the status of world's number one superpower.
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