By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:57 EST, 10 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:16 EST, 10 September 2013 . Four of the best 10 universities in the world are in the UK, according to a new international table. And a record six British institutions have made it into the top 20 in the latest annual QS World University Rankings. But experts warned that the UK's leading position could be under threat without more funding. The top-ranked UK university is Cambridge, which has slipped down a place to third this year, behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology - which also topped the rankings last year - and Harvard, both leading US universities. Highly rated: Cambridge University was the highest ranked UK institution coming third in the QS world University rankings . Highly regarded: University College London came just behind Cambridge in the rankings, rated as the fourth best institution in the world . Also in the top 10 were University College London (UCL) in fourth place, Imperial College London in fifth, and Oxford in sixth. The other institutions in the top 10 were all in the United States. Edinburgh and King's College London both moved up into the top 20 in 17th and 19th place respectively. There were eight UK universities in total in the top 50 and 18 in the top 100. QS head of research Ben Sowter said the prestige of a UK degree is recognised by employers around the world. The authors said that of the 45 British institutions in top 400, 29 rank lower than they did at the time of the economic crisis in 2008/09. Since the recession, 21 institutions in the UK have dropped by more than 10 places in the rankings, while five are now 10 places higher than in 2007. Climber: Imperial College London in Kensington was up one place in the ratings from sixth to fifth . Cambridge was the only UK university to make the global top 30 for research, with UCL, Oxford and Imperial making it into the top 50. This suggests that the UK is struggling to keep up with the US in producing cutting-edge research, the authors said. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (last year 1) Harvard (3) Cambridge (2) University College London (4) Imperial College London (6) Oxford (5) Stanford (15) Yale (7) Chicago (8) California Institute of Technology (10) AND Princeton (9) John O'Leary, member of the QS Global Academic Advisory Board, said: 'The UK invests below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average in higher education, so it is unrealistic to expect its universities to continue to punch above their weight indefinitely. 'The current success of leading institutions shows how vital it is that the Government matches the investments being made by other countries in order to maintain their world-class status.' UCL's new president and provost, Professor Michael Arthur, said: 'UCL is undoubtedly one of the world's leading universities and I am pleased to see this reflected in this latest league table position. 'I believe that success in these rankings is down to both our established institutional strengths and our ongoing determination to play a leading role in higher education as it continues to evolve, both in the UK and globally. 'As pleasing as it is, rankings success will not divert us from focusing on our core mission of educating and inspiring our students and delivering world-class research.' Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, said: 'The focus on research excellence and high-quality teaching means the UK performs formidably well against other nations in spite of its size. 'But while funding announced in the recent spending review is welcome, public expenditure on higher education in the UK remains far less than the United States, China and other Western European countries. Mover: Harvard leapfrogged Cambridge to take second place this year . 'If our universities are to compete in the future, they need the Government to provide light-touch regulation and continued investment, and to be welcoming to genuine international students.' Universities minister David Willetts said the results were 'fantastic news' and that UK universities are world-class. He added: 'We are not complacent, and we know we must work hard to remain the best. Our reforms to undergraduate finance have put universities on a sustainable financial footing and sharpened incentives to deliver a world-class student experience.'
Cambridge was the top ranked UK university in the global list .
The university came third in the rankings overall down one place .
Massachusetts Institute of Technology was rated number one .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 02:57 EST, 10 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 03:16 EST, 10 September 2013 . Four of the best 10 universities in the world are in the UK, according to a new international table. And a record six British institutions have made it into the top 20 in the latest annual QS World University Rankings. But experts warned that the UK's leading position could be under threat without more funding. The top-ranked UK university is Cambridge, which has slipped down a place to third this year, behind Massachusetts Institute of Technology - which also topped the rankings last year - and Harvard, both leading US universities. Highly rated: Cambridge University was the highest ranked UK institution coming third in the QS world University rankings . Highly regarded: University College London came just behind Cambridge in the rankings, rated as the fourth best institution in the world . Also in the top 10 were University College London (UCL) in fourth place, Imperial College London in fifth, and Oxford in sixth. The other institutions in the top 10 were all in the United States. Edinburgh and King's College London both moved up into the top 20 in 17th and 19th place respectively. There were eight UK universities in total in the top 50 and 18 in the top 100. QS head of research Ben Sowter said the prestige of a UK degree is recognised by employers around the world. The authors said that of the 45 British institutions in top 400, 29 rank lower than they did at the time of the economic crisis in 2008/09. Since the recession, 21 institutions in the UK have dropped by more than 10 places in the rankings, while five are now 10 places higher than in 2007. Climber: Imperial College London in Kensington was up one place in the ratings from sixth to fifth . Cambridge was the only UK university to make the global top 30 for research, with UCL, Oxford and Imperial making it into the top 50. This suggests that the UK is struggling to keep up with the US in producing cutting-edge research, the authors said. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (last year 1) Harvard (3) Cambridge (2) University College London (4) Imperial College London (6) Oxford (5) Stanford (15) Yale (7) Chicago (8) California Institute of Technology (10) AND Princeton (9) John O'Leary, member of the QS Global Academic Advisory Board, said: 'The UK invests below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average in higher education, so it is unrealistic to expect its universities to continue to punch above their weight indefinitely. 'The current success of leading institutions shows how vital it is that the Government matches the investments being made by other countries in order to maintain their world-class status.' UCL's new president and provost, Professor Michael Arthur, said: 'UCL is undoubtedly one of the world's leading universities and I am pleased to see this reflected in this latest league table position. 'I believe that success in these rankings is down to both our established institutional strengths and our ongoing determination to play a leading role in higher education as it continues to evolve, both in the UK and globally. 'As pleasing as it is, rankings success will not divert us from focusing on our core mission of educating and inspiring our students and delivering world-class research.' Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, which represents 24 leading universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, said: 'The focus on research excellence and high-quality teaching means the UK performs formidably well against other nations in spite of its size. 'But while funding announced in the recent spending review is welcome, public expenditure on higher education in the UK remains far less than the United States, China and other Western European countries. Mover: Harvard leapfrogged Cambridge to take second place this year . 'If our universities are to compete in the future, they need the Government to provide light-touch regulation and continued investment, and to be welcoming to genuine international students.' Universities minister David Willetts said the results were 'fantastic news' and that UK universities are world-class. He added: 'We are not complacent, and we know we must work hard to remain the best. Our reforms to undergraduate finance have put universities on a sustainable financial footing and sharpened incentives to deliver a world-class student experience.'
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - which Cambridge University was the highest ranked UK institution coming third in the QS world Cambridge was the only UK university to make the