Student body: 46,074. Every year, roughly 2,000 international students matriculate, mainly from Asia, but also from Europe and the Americas.

History: Founded in 1898, the school (often called the University of Beijing) has been at the epicenter of political currents that have swept through China. Mao Zedong worked as a librarian here, and it was in the university’s dorms that Tiananmen student protestors organized their activities. But times have changed, and political posters have been replaced by job listings and MBA advertisements.

Claim to fame: Ranked the No. 1 university outside of Europe and North America by the Times of London, it blends a traditional campus with high-tech research facilities. Renowned for its pure and applied sciences, the university produced the brain power for China’s hydrogen bomb. Now, it trains leaders for the country’s economic boom. China’s top IT entrepreneurs, political leaders, and scientists have all passed through the university’s halls.

Notable alums: Wang Dan, the leader of the Tiananmen Square protests

What’s next: The university is developing a Western-style curriculum, including a credit system that allows students to choose courses from a wide variety of fields outside of their major.

Student body: Roughly 20,000

History: Founded in 1829 as an all-boys school, it grew into a university in 1918. Known for its leftist politics, the school’s students frequently clashed with police in anti-apartheid protests during the late 1980s.

Claim to fame: The most prestigious university in Africa, it counts among its alumni three Nobel Prize winners. It is a bastion of liberalism and racial integration and is struggling with the rest of the nation to deal with the legacy of apartheid.

Notable alums: Writer J.M. Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Prize winner for literature, and the American film critic Roger Ebert, who was a fellow at the university

What’s next: To respond to issues surrounding South Africa’s debilitating HIV/AIDS epidemic, the university offers education, training, and awareness programs.

Student body: More than 28,000

History: Founded in 1946 in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat and withdrawal from the Korean Peninsula

Claim to fame: SNU is one of three elite schools that dominate Korea’s political, economic, and social life, and many of the country’s politicians are alums. Not surprisingly, the school is often criticized for being elitist and bureaucratic.

Notable alums: Ban Ki-moon, the incoming U.N. secretary general, and Hwang Woo Suk, a biomedical scientist and until recently a professor at his alma mater. A media darling, Hwang was recently indicted on charges of faking stem cell research and embezzling funds.

What’s next: The Hwang affair prompted a round of soul searching at SNU and is reportedly leading to new guidelines for stem cell research. To combat charges of elitism, the school is considering a proposal to admit at least one student from every district in the country.

Student body: The elite student body numbers fewer than 1,000. Special schools even offer year-long courses that help students prepare for the entrance exam.

History: The school was established in 1961 to create managers for India’s expanding industry and government sectors. The liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s increased demand for the institute’s specialized training.

Claim to fame: It is the most prestigious of six related institutes spread around the country. That it accepts only 1 percent of its applicants has only added to its allure. IIMA graduates populate the upper echelons of global business, from Citigroup to the tigers of outsourcing. It is also one of the first business schools in the country to use the case study method of instruction.

Notable alums: Raghuram G. Rajan, one of the youngest chief economists at the International Monetary Fund, and Ajay Banga, chairman and CEO of Citigroup’s Global Consumer Group-International

What’s next: IIMA plans to increase its international presence by recruiting foreign students and professors, and by expanding its executive training program to other developing countries through foreign campuses.

Student body: Roughly 10,000 students (all male)

History: The university was founded in 1963 on a site adjoining Saudi Aramco facilities to enable Saudis to become custodians of their country’s oil wealth.

Claim to fame: The primarily English education is free for the 15 percent of applicants fortunate enough to be admitted. Science is the main focus, and along with oilmen, the university trains doctors, engineers, and businessmen.

Notable alums: Ghazi al-Yawar, president of the Iraqi interim government from 2004 to 2005

What’s next: Apparently concerned about the possibility of peak oil production and the West’s efforts to curb its dependence on foreign oil, the university is sponsoring research on alternative sources of energy, including fuel cells.