Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a company specializing in education and study abroad. The company was founded in 1990 by Wharton School MBA graduate Nunzio Quacquarelli. Today, QS has over 200 employees and operates globally from offices in London (head office in Hampstead, North London), New York, Paris, Singapore, Stuttgart, Boston, Washington DC, Sydney, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Alicante. QS provides services for undergraduates, graduates, Masters, PhDs, MBA, and EMBA candidates. It offers publications and events to broaden the scope of study abroad. QS runs events and produces guides for postgraduates across 35 countries.

QS Stars is a system used to evaluate universities on a range of performance indicators. These include research quality, graduate employability, careers service support, teaching quality, infrastructure such as sports facilities and medical care, student societies and accommodation, IT and libraries, international appeal, innovation and knowledge transfer, and community involvement.