Maastricht University has been ranked as the 7th best university in the world among universities which are less than 50 years old.

Future top universities

The QS Top 50 Universities Under 50 was published for the first time last year and attempts to assess universities worldwide who could be top universities in the future by distinguishing them from already established, older institutions.

Established in 1976, Maastricht has risen one place in the rankings since last year, although this may have been influenced by five universities from last year's rankings dropping out after reaching their half-century.

Overall improvement

Despite this though, all of the universities within the Under 50 ranking have risen an average of 2,7 places in the overall QS World University Rankings, with Maastricht lying in 107th place in this regard.

Following the strong performance by Dutch universities in the QS World University Subject Rankings, Maastricht's emerging quality will be a good sign for the future of quality higher education in the Netherlands.

Asian universities

The list is lead by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) followed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in second place.

These are two of a total of six Asian universities in the top 10, throwing into the spotlight the accelerating quality of universities in the region.

The Top 10 Universities Under 50

›  Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
›  Nanyang Technological University
›  The University of Warwick
›  Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
›  City University of Hong Kong
›  Pohang University of Science and Technology
›  Maastricht University
›  University of California, Irvine
›  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
›  Lancaster University

Source: QS Top Universities