Children and schoolchildren who want to study at popular higher education institutions begin their preparation from school, earning educational credits and high scores, because top universities have high requirements for applicants. Any student has the opportunity to study at the best universities in the world if their academic and language knowledge meets the admission requirements.

1. Literary Institute named after A.M. Gorky

This is the only university in the world where they meticulously approach teaching how to write poetry and novels. Of course, you can get a philological education at any university, but you can master all the nuances only here. The institute is located in Moscow. It definitely belongs to the category unusual universities of the world.

Upon completion, you will have a literary specialization that can be applied in various fields – from proofreader to editor-in-chief of the most fashionable magazine. Choose the poetry department if you want to improve your poetic skills, or prose if your soul is more inclined to write a novel.

It may seem that such a specialty is not in great demand. But, to the surprise of many, the competition here is 20 people per place. Unusual universities of the world are not as cheap as we would like.

2. Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN)

Probably only the lazy have not heard of this university located in Moscow, as it is one of the leading universities of the Russian Federation. And the specialties here are in a variety of fields, as in any other university. Here you can become a journalist, a lawyer, and an economist.

What is so unusual, you ask? This is the most international university in the world: out of almost 30,000 students at the university, you can count more than 450 nationalities and ethnic groups. Students from 158 countries study here. If you enroll on a contract basis, the cost of tuition will fluctuate from 100,000 to 240,000 thousand rubles per year.

3. Carpigiani Gelato University

Do you think making ice cream is easy? This university in Bologna, Italy, will quickly disprove your opinion. Students at this institution take the creation of unique masterpieces very seriously. And they really are masterpieces: here you can learn to make not only the classic flavors of everyone's favorite delicacy, but also master completely unique desserts - ice cream with the taste of cheese, basil, fish or red wine. Unusual universities around the world are proud of such a fellow.

By the way, don't think that this is a cheap pleasure. A week of training costs $1,000. And to master all the nuances, you need to take at least four week-long courses.

4. Novosibirsk Institute for the Study of the Activities of Magicians and Healers

Want to become a wizard? Then this is the place for you. But only if you have certain abilities. These are exactly what will be developed during your studies. The subjects taught here will make students from other universities green with envy: "Extrasensory perception", "Basics of magic", "Old Russian conspiracies", "Voodoo rituals" and many other things that are just as unusual. That's for sure, the unusual universities of the world have accepted something supernatural into their ranks!

It is not easy to get in here, because ordinary school knowledge is not valued so highly here. The main thing is to demonstrate your extraordinary abilities and prove that they are natural.

They say the institute opened back in 2010, but few people know about its activities yet. Perhaps it was just a hoax? I really want a little magic.

5. Yakut Institute of Permafrost Science

This is the only institute in the world where permafrost science is studied. We are sure that many of you have heard this word for the first time. It is located in the city of Yakutsk. It trains specialists in the protection and rational use of natural resources in permafrost areas.

What kind of education will you get here? For example, you can become a geochemist or a geocryological engineer. And you will be among the students who have chosen the most unusual universities in the world.

If you plan to live in permafrost areas, such an education will definitely not hurt. By the way, it is a very promising field for further study in the leading universities of the world.

6. University of Santiago de Chile

Remember the ghost hunters? Would you like to become one of them? Then this is the place for you. Everything related to paranormal phenomena and UFO studies is studied here. After graduating from the university, graduates can fully apply their knowledge in practice.

Courses in paranormal phenomena have been introduced since 2005, and today it is the only university in the world that produces UFO specialists.

7. Japan Cyber University

This university offers online-only education. There are only two faculties: Information Technology and World Heritage. At the latter, you will study everything related to the preservation of world values. The course lasts four years, after which you will receive a bachelor's degree. There are 1,200 students studying at the university.

We are sure that soon other, equally unusual universities will appear, and you will not have to choose between boring specialties of lawyer-economist, but will have the opportunity to demonstrate your extraordinary abilities. Perhaps it is worth starting with unusual kindergartens? In the meantime, take a closer look at yourself: perhaps you are destined for a direct path to becoming a wizard?

It is difficult to doubt the importance of higher education. It not only allows you to gain a variety of useful knowledge, but also opens access to profitable and interesting vacancies. Often, it is not only the specialty that a person has studied that is important, but also the place where he did it. Employers will clearly be interested in a candidate who graduated from the best university in the world. Of course, this is a subjective concept. All higher education institutions have their advantages and disadvantages. Some stand out for the variety of faculties, while others for their living and learning conditions. However, over time, several universities have managed to establish themselves so that almost every schoolchild dreams of entering them.

8. National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore stands out in three ways in its home country. It has the largest number of students, the largest number of programs, and is the oldest. It was founded in 1904, but at that time it was a medical school. It was only in 1949 that it merged with Raffles College, which allowed it to expand its scope of activities. Today, the University of Singapore offers twenty-seven undergraduate programs and over one hundred graduate programs. The teaching system is modular, which includes a credit system and small student cohorts. During the first two semesters, students have the right to attend classes in different faculties. Moreover, they can receive a double bachelor's degree.

9. Tsinghua University

This is one of the leading educational institutions in the People's Republic of China. It is part of an alliance of the most elite universities called the C9 League. The university owes its formation to the end of the Boxer Rebellion. According to the Final Protocol, China was supposed to make a number of payments, but the United States received more funds than required. In order to return the surplus, a program of support for Chinese students was organized. In order to prepare them, a special educational institution was created. Thus, in 1911, the future Tsinghua University appeared, which at that time was called a college. In 2010, the university already had sixteen institutes, which number more than fifty faculties. For example, there is an Institute of Nuclear and New Technologies, an Aerospace Institute, and an Institute of Life Sciences.

10. University of Georgia

The state of Georgia is home to a public university of the same name. Its campus, which is over three square kilometers in size, is located in the city-county of Athens-Clarke. It is the oldest university in the state, founded in 1785. This was made possible by the Georgia General Assembly, which allocated about one hundred and sixty kilometers of land for the foundation of a “college and seminary.” The university is regularly included in the rankings of the best educational institutions in the United States. Its strongest areas are life sciences, arts and humanities, chemistry, social sciences and management, as well as economics and business. Students have a huge library at their disposal. More than seven percent of all students at the University of Georgia came from other countries.

11. University of Chicago

This private research university appeared in the United States of America in 1890. As the name suggests, it is located in the state of Illinois, in the city of Chicago. Now it is one of the most popular and prestigious educational institutions, which is largely due to its influence in the political, scientific and social spheres. The structure of the university includes: Graduate Schools, Institute of Continuing Education, Theological Seminary, Medical School, School of Social Services Administration, Institute of Law, School of Business, School of Public Policy, Interdisciplinary Committees, College. The development of a number of academic disciplines became possible due to the activities of scientists on the territory of the university. Under the sports field, the Department of Physics developed the Chicago Woodpile-1, the first artificial nuclear reactor. The University of Chicago Press is considered the largest in the United States. Students and staff of the university have received so many Nobel Prizes that the institution took fourth place in this parameter. Graduates also receive other prestigious awards, such as the National Humanities Medal, the Rhodes Scholarship, and the Fields Medal. Thirteen University of Chicago alumni have become billionaires.

12. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In the United States, in the state of Massachusetts, there is a university and research center called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is one of the most prestigious educational institutions not only in the country, but also in the world. The Institute regularly becomes the leader of a variety of ratings. Due to its high prestige, all of its educational programs are quoted, but engineering ones are valued the most. MIT is an innovator in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics. It is also known in the field of mathematics, physics, information technology, management, linguistics, economics, philosophy and political science. The Institute has a number of divisions, the most famous of which is considered to be the Lincoln Laboratory. It is responsible for many military-applied researches, including both radar stations and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The MIT community includes 81 Nobel Prize winners.

13. University of Cambridge

One of the oldest universities in the UK is Cambridge. At the moment, it is officially considered a privileged charitable institution. In 2016, the university was ranked fourth in the ranking of the best universities in the world. If we consider the UK, it often takes first place there. The university consists of thirty-one colleges, each of which has its own: Dormitories, Libraries, Real Estate, Churches with an organ and a choir. Each college sets its own rules regarding the gender and age of students. However, the institute has departments that are available to members of any college. These include the Cavendish Laboratory, the Cambridge Observatory and the University Library. The areas of study are divided into five groups, which determine their cost. For example, for economics and linguistics from the first group they pay a little less than twelve thousand dollars a year. For medicine and veterinary science from the fifth group they pay twenty-eight thousand. To this you also need to add the annual university fee, which is about five thousand dollars.

14. Stanford University

This private American university is one of the most highly rated and respected. It is located near San Francisco, near the city of Palo Alto, in Silicon Valley. Every year, about seven thousand undergraduate and graduate students enter it, studying in such areas as: Medicine, Engineering, Law, Music. Students have the opportunity to participate in competitions in more than thirty sports. Thanks to the sports program, Stanford University students have received 105 championship titles. According to this indicator, the university is considered the second in the world. Its structure also includes a higher business school and a research park.

15. California Institute of Technology

In the state of California, in the city of Pasadena, there is a private research university that is on par with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is the leading university in the country, considered one of the most important. It owns the NASA research center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It is the one that launches the vast majority of the agency's automatic spacecraft. Despite all its prestige and popularity, the California Institute remains very small. It has only about a thousand students and a little more postgraduates. But graduates regularly become Nobel laureates, receive US national scientific medals, and get into national academies of sciences. In 2016, the institute took fifth place among the hundred best universities in the world according to UniPage.

16. Harvard and Oxford Universities

Harvard and Oxford are two names that are familiar to almost everyone. They are always included in the lists of the best educational institutions, and it is almost impossible to determine which should be put in first place and which in second. Harvard University is located in the state of Massachusetts, in the city of Cambridge. It is the first in the number of billionaires it graduates and is part of the elite group of the Ivy League. Oxford University is a British educational institution located in the city of the same name. It is part of the elite Russell group and the "ancient universities" of Ireland and Great Britain. Among applicants, only those with A-level grades are considered, and interviews and letters of recommendation are also required.

17. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

First of all, the university is notable not even for the exterior of some campus buildings, but for its "forge of personnel". This educational institution is called a conveyor belt for producing Nobel laureates, so it is worth visiting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at least to see how geniuses study.

By the way, access to the university grounds, campuses, and classrooms is free.
You can just walk into the University of Massachusetts off the street without any passes or badges.

Speaking of the university's attractions, the most interesting is undoubtedly the Center for Computer, Information, and Intellectual Sciences (The Ray and Maria Stata Center). This ultra-modern complex was designed by Frank Gehry. Its construction cost $1,400,000. According to some sources, Bill Gates was one of the sponsors.

By the way, although the buildings of the University of Massachusetts look very impressive from the outside, they are already quite worn out inside. According to representatives of the educational institution, the ceilings began to leak, the walls were covered with mold. They even filed a lawsuit against the architect Frank Gehry, accusing him of poor quality implementation of the project.

18. Nanyang Technological University

Located in Singapore, Nanyang University is certainly not as prestigious as Massachusetts, but it is also highly rated in the world. According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, it is among the top 60 in the world.

However, even if you do not intend to enroll there, it is definitely worth visiting the university grounds. The main campus occupies 200 hectares, and there is a beautiful garden on the territory. But the main highlight of the campus is the building of the School of Art, Design and Media.
The ideologists of this building tried to erase the line between nature and architecture and, even judging by the photos, they succeeded in this completely. The roof of the futuristic School of Arts is nothing more than a green grass lawn. By the way, it is not only beautiful, but also functional: the turf allows air to circulate around the building, lowering its temperature.

19. University of Nottingham

The University's campuses are 10 minutes from Nottingham city centre by bus or bike.

The University of Nottingham is one of the most popular universities in the UK. This is not surprising, because in addition to a good educational base, this educational institution can also boast of excellent infrastructure.

When Nottingham students are asked what they like most about the university, many say: the campus. Indeed, each of the university’s four campuses is notable in its own way. In particular, the 133.5 square kilometre University Park campus has won the Green Flag award year after year.

No less interesting for tourists and lovers of unusual architecture is the Jubilee Campus, especially the library building, which was designed by specialists from Hopkins Architects.
Interestingly, the university library has its own Twitter. It is also worth adding that there used to be a bicycle factory on the site of this campus. The most prestigious areas at the University of Nottingham are business, law and economics. The School of Pharmacy is also very respected in the world.

 20. Rangsit University

Located in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. If there was a ranking of the brightest campuses, the campus of Rangsit University would probably take one of the first places. It seems that students of this private higher education institution do not have any "gray days" at all, the surrounding environment simply does not give a reason for this.

For example, in winter, the staff of Rangsit University took and painted the bushes and trees on the campus in yellow, purple, red. What happened is difficult to describe in words, it is better to look at the photo.