The Center for World University Rankings does not rely on surveys or data provided by the institutions themselves. The ranking is based on seven criteria grouped into four areas:
| Area | Criterion | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Based on the academic success of a university’s alumni, and measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have won prestigious academic distinctions relative to the university’s size (25%). | |
| Employability | Based on the professional success of a university’s alumni, and measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have held top positions at major companies relative to the university’s size (25%). | |
| Faculty | Measured by the number of faculty members who have won prestigious academic distinctions (10%). | |
| Research | Research Output | Measured by the total number of research papers (10%). |
| High-Quality Publications | Measured by the number of research papers appearing in top-tier journals (10%). | |
| Influence | Measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals (10%). | |
| Citations | Measured by the number of highly-cited research papers (10%). |
