The Times Higher Education 2013 World Reputation Rankings has been released, with US and UK institutions cementing their places as the world’s top institutions.

Harvard University has once again dominated the field, scoring the perfect 100.0, fending off its nearest rival, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, by 12.4 points.

The Rankings are based on a survey of academic opinions covering 16,5000 respondents from over 150 countries.

The University of Melbourne was Australia’s highest placed institution at 39, with an overall score of 8.9, cracking the top 40 nut for the first time.

Melbourne’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis said moving into the top 40 in the world acknowledged and celebrated teaching staff and researchers’ constant pursuit of excellence.

“Melbourne’s sustained leadership and improvement across several different ranking measures highlights the great work being done across the University,” he said.

Melbourne’s nearest Australian rival, the Australian National University (ANU), jumped two places to rank 42nd for the 2013 year.

The University of Sydney placed 49th in the year’s ranking, marking the only other Australian institution to score in the top 50.

The full ranking can be found here