International teams have done very well at HNMUN and WorldMUN. United Netherlands is pictured here.
What are the best college Model UN teams in the world? The Best Delegate team decided to answer this question with our International Top 20 Standings. We had to separate the college circuit into two divisions and devised methodologies for both divisions. We recommend reading the two links before jumping into the standings.
The standings are based on results as of March 21, 2011 which allowed us to capture results from WorldMUN. The standings reflect only team performances at conferences and not the overall quality of the program (i.e. it does not measure if a program hosts conferences or have any other special activities).
Here is the list of the top 20 international college Model UN teams. All these teams have won awards at either Harvard HNMUN or Harvard WorldMUN — the two most competitive conferences in the world. The top five in particular won multiple awards at those conferences and would make the combined Top 25 if we didn’t separate the World Division into a North American list and an International list (see the Methodology page for reasons why we separated the lists). Check out which colleges made our International Top 20!
The Best College Model UN Teams – World Division: International Top 20 Standings (as of 3/21/11)
1. MUN Society Belgium (Belgium)
MUN Society Belgium is relatively new to the circuit — the team was formed in 2006 after individuals from several universities met at Catalonia MUN in Spain. They adopted the same model as United Netherlands to combine the best collegiate delegates from their nation and have since been a force at Harvard WorldMUN, Oxford OxiMUN, and London International LIMUN. The team won Best Large Delegation at WorldMUN this year to give them the most heavily weighted award among all international teams.
2. Universidad Metropolitana (Venezuela)
Universidad Metropolitana is one of many powerhouse Venezuelan college teams on the circuit and they lead the way this year. The team placed 4th overall at Harvard HNMUN — behind only Yale University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pennsylvania — and won Best International Delegation. This was the team’s first time winning that award.
3. Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Venezuela)
Catolica is perhaps the most well-known of the Venezuelan powerhouses as they have consistently won delegation awards at both Harvard HNMUN and at NMUN in New York (on the National circuit) in the past few years. They came in 5th in overall awards won at HNMUN this year and also won awards at WorldMUN. They’ll close out their ambitious season — they’re one of only several colleges that attends HNMUN, WorldMUN, and NMUN — by trying to repeat for Outstanding Delegation (the top award) at NMUN in New York later this April.
4. United Netherlands (Netherlands)
United Netherlands is another powerhouse — they not only contend for Best International Delegation at Harvard HNMUN but for the overall Best Large Delegation award at that conference. They are also the original pioneers of the highly successful combined national team concept that has since been copied by several of the Top 10 International teams. United Netherlands came in 6th in overall awards won at HNMUN this year and also won awards at Oxford OxiMUN.
5. Universidad Simon Bolivar (Venezuela)
Universidad Simon Bolivar is another strong Venezuelan team and primary rivals of Catolica as the teams jockey for best international delegation at Harvard HNMUN every year. The team placed 9th in overall awards won at HNMUN this year.
Colleges in the top 6-10 sorted by weighted awards won at HNMUN or WorldMUN:
6. Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela)
7. Lahore University of Management Sciences (Pakistan)
8. University of Passau (Germany)
9. Australian Universities Delegation (Australia)
10. Peruvian Universities (Peru)
Colleges in the top 11-20 sorted alphabetically:
- Lady Shir Ram College for Women (India)
- Leiden University (Netherlands)
- Sciences Po Lille (France)
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain)
- Universidad de Carabobo (Venezuela)
- Universidad del Rosario (Colombia)
- University of Delhi – Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (India)
- University of Exeter (United Kingdom)
- University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
- Utrecht University (Netherlands)
Check out the rest of the World Division – North America standings: top 6-10, top 11-15 and top 16-25!
**
What do you think about the colleges that made our Top 20? Make sure to check back on April 7th for the World Division – North America Top 1-5!
**
Editor’s Note: The numbers for this March 21st edition of the standings were produced shortly after WorldMUN. Schools may submit their awards information to kfc@bestdelegate.com so we can double-check before we produce the final, end-of-year standings at the end of May.
**
Enjoy reading these kinds of posts? Want to read more like it? Take our survey and let us know. Click here to take the survey!
