Overview
QS Lists are predefined groups of institutions which are designed to help you quickly benchmark your institution’s performance against relevant peers without needing to manually build your own lists.
What Are QS Lists?
QS Lists are predefined groups of institutions based on established networks, or characteristics such as region, subject area, or institutional type.
Examples include:
Well-known academic networks such as the Ivy League (USA), Russell Group (UK), C9 League (China), and TU9 (Germany)
Groups of research-intensive universities such as members of the AAU or Carnegie Classification (USA), the Group of Eight (Australia), U15 (Canada), or LERU (Europe)
You can access these lists directly in the Lists section of your HolonIQ by QS platform.
Why Use QS Lists?
Using these lists can help you:
Save time — instantly start your analysis without having to identify and add institutions manually,
Gain trusted comparisons — rely on lists curated by QS analysts using consistent, data-driven criteria,
Identify trends — explore how similar institutions perform in rankings, reputation, or research outputs,
Support strategic planning — use curated groups as a foundation for presentations, reports, and strategic reviews.
Tips & Example Use Cases
Institutional Benchmarking: Compare your university’s performance against a established peer group (e.g., “Universitas 21”).
Use the QS Lists as a baseline, and build your own Custom Lists (*derived from your Master Peer List).
Strategic Reporting: Export charts and metrics for presentations to leadership or stakeholders.