Paris tops student city rankings

Any students looking to continue their education overseas may well wish to consider doing so at an institution based in Paris.

The French capital has been named the world’s best student city for the fourth consecutive year by higher education data experts QS.

The study, which was conducted before the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, ranks 75 cities worldwide on a range of factors, including the diversity of their student body, quality of life, opportunities for graduate employment, affordability and the quality of their universities.

The French capital’s place at the top of the rankings is largely due to its high concentration of internationally ranking universities. Home to 18 universities featured in the QS World University Rankings® 2015/16, it lays claim to comfortably more world-leading institutions than any other city on the planet except for London, which has 19.

And while Paris does have a reputation for being an expensive place to live, relatively low tuition fees mean that for students, it actually represents a more affordable destination when compared to many other popular student cities.

Melbourne holds on to second place for the second year, while Tokyo has moved into third place, from seventh last year.

London’s increasingly high cost of living has seen it fall to fifth place, from third last year, with Sydney pipping it to fourth.

To be included in the ranking, a city must be home to at least 250,000 inhabitants and two or more universities on the QS world university rankings.

The top 10 student cities

Paris

Melbourne

Tokyo

Sydney

London

Singapore

Montreal

Hong Kong

Berlin

Seoul