On June 9, QS World Higher Education Research Institute released the latest 2022 QS world university rankings!
In this ranking, a total of 1300 universities are on the list, which is the largest ranking of world universities in QS history. Before looking at the list, first look at the highlights.
List of World University Ranking Top 100
MIT ranked first in the world in 10 years, University of Oxford, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Harvard University ranked second to fifth.
QS World University Rankings 2022 Top 100 |
|||
Rank |
University |
Location |
Overall Score |
1 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
Cambridge, United States |
100 |
2 |
University of Oxford |
Oxford, United Kingdom |
99.5 |
3 |
Stanford University |
Stanford, United States |
98.7 |
3 |
University of Cambridge |
Cambridge, United Kingdom |
98.7 |
5 |
Harvard University |
Cambridge, United States |
98 |
6 |
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) |
Pasadena, United States |
97.4 |
7 |
Imperial College London |
London, United Kingdom |
97.3 |
8 |
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology |
Zürich, Switzerland |
95.4 |
8 |
UCL |
London, United Kingdom |
95.4 |
10 |
University of Chicago |
Chicago, United States |
94.5 |
11 |
National University of Singapore (NUS) |
Singapore, Singapore |
93.9 |
12 |
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) |
Singapore, Singapore |
90.8 |
13 |
University of Pennsylvania |
Philadelphia, United States |
90.7 |
14 |
EPFL |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
90.2 |
14 |
Yale University |
New Haven, United States |
90.2 |
16 |
The University of Edinburgh |
Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
89.9 |
17 |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
89 |
|
18 |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
88.8 |
|
19 |
Columbia University |
New York City, United States |
88.7 |
20 |
Princeton University |
Princeton, United States |
88.6 |
21 |
Cornell University |
Ithaca, United States |
88.3 |
22 |
The University of Hong Kong |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
86.3 |
23 |
The University of Tokyo |
Tokyo, Japan |
86.2 |
23 |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor |
Ann Arbor, United States |
86.2 |
25 |
Johns Hopkins University |
Baltimore, United States |
85.9 |
26 |
University of Toronto |
Toronto, Canada |
85.3 |
27 |
McGill University |
Montreal, Canada |
84 |
27 |
The Australian National University |
Canberra, Australia |
84 |
27 |
The University of Manchester |
Manchester, United Kingdom |
84 |
30 |
Northwestern University |
Evanston, United States |
82.8 |
31 |
Shanghai, China (Mainland) |
82.6 |
|
32 |
University of California, Berkeley (UCB) |
Berkeley, United States |
82.5 |
33 |
Kyoto University |
Kyoto, Japan |
82.3 |
34 |
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
82.2 |
35 |
King's College London |
London, United Kingdom |
82 |
36 |
Seoul National University |
Seoul, South Korea |
81.7 |
37 |
The University of Melbourne |
Parkville, Australia |
81.4 |
38 |
The University of Sydney |
Sydney, Australia |
80.4 |
39 |
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
80.3 |
40 |
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
Los Angeles, United States |
79.7 |
41 |
KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology |
Daejeon, South Korea |
79.1 |
42 |
New York University (NYU) |
New York City, United States |
78.9 |
43 |
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) |
Sydney, Australia |
77.7 |
44 |
Université PSL |
France |
77.6 |
45 |
Hangzhou, China (Mainland) |
77.4 |
|
46 |
University of British Columbia |
Vancouver, Canada |
77.1 |
47 |
The University of Queensland |
Brisbane, Australia |
76.6 |
48 |
University of California, San Diego (UCSD) |
San Diego, United States |
76.1 |
49 |
Institut Polytechnique de Paris |
Palaiseau Cedex, France |
75.9 |
49 |
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) |
London, United Kingdom |
75.8 |
50 |
Shanghai, China (Mainland) |
75.6 |
|
50 |
Technical University of Munich |
Munich, Germany |
75.6 |
52 |
Duke University |
Durham, United States |
75.2 |
53 |
Carnegie Mellon University |
Pittsburgh, United States |
74.6 |
53 |
City University of Hong Kong |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
74.6 |
55 |
University of Amsterdam |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
73.8 |
56 |
Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) |
Tokyo, Japan |
73.5 |
57 |
Delft University of Technology |
Delft, Netherlands |
73.1 |
58 |
Monash University |
Melbourne, Australia |
72.2 |
60 |
Brown University |
Providence, United States |
71.3 |
61 |
The University of Warwick |
Coventry, United Kingdom |
71.2 |
62 |
University of Bristol |
Bristol, United Kingdom |
71 |
63 |
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg |
Heidelberg, Germany |
70.8 |
64 |
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München |
Munich, Germany |
70.1 |
65 |
Universiti Malaya (UM) |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
69.8 |
66 |
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
69.1 |
67 |
University of Texas at Austin |
Austin, United States |
68.4 |
68 |
National Taiwan University (NTU) |
Taipei City, Taiwan |
68.2 |
69 |
Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
67.9 |
70 |
KU Leuven |
Leuven, Belgium |
67.2 |
70 |
University of Zurich |
Zürich, Switzerland |
67.2 |
72 |
Sorbonne University |
France |
67.1 |
73 |
University of Glasgow |
Glasgow, United Kingdom |
66.8 |
74 |
Korea University |
Seoul, South Korea |
66.3 |
75 |
Osaka University |
Osaka City, Japan |
66.2 |
75 |
University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Madison, United States |
66.2 |
77 |
University of Southampton |
Southampton, United Kingdom |
65.7 |
78 |
Lomonosov Moscow State University |
Moscow, Russia |
65.6 |
79 |
University of Copenhagen |
Copenhagen, Denmark |
65.5 |
79 |
Yonsei University |
Seoul, South Korea |
65.5 |
81 |
Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH) |
Pohang , South Korea |
65.4 |
82 |
Durham University |
Durham, United Kingdom |
65.2 |
82 |
Tohoku University |
Sendai City, Japan |
65.2 |
82 |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Champaign, United States |
65.2 |
85 |
The University of Auckland |
Auckland, New Zealand |
65 |
85 |
University of Washington |
Seattle, United States |
65 |
86 |
Université Paris-Saclay |
France |
64.9 |
87 |
Lund University |
Lund, Sweden |
63.8 |
88 |
Georgia Institute of Technology |
Atlanta, United States |
63.5 |
89 |
KTH Royal Institute of Technology |
Stockholm, Sweden |
63.2 |
90 |
University of Birmingham |
Birmingham, United Kingdom |
62.9 |
91 |
University of St Andrews |
St. Andrews, United Kingdom |
62.8 |
92 |
University of Leeds |
Leeds, United Kingdom |
62.6 |
93 |
The University of Western Australia |
Perth, Australia |
62.5 |
94 |
Rice University |
Houston, United States |
62.3 |
95 |
The University of Sheffield |
Sheffield, United Kingdom |
61.6 |
96 |
Pennsylvania State University |
University Park, United States |
61.5 |
97 |
Sungkyunkwan University(SKKU) |
Suwon, South Korea |
60.5 |
98 |
Hefei, China (Mainland) |
60.1 |
|
99 |
Technical University of Denmark |
Kongens Lyngby, Denmark |
59.9 |
100 |
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill |
Chapel Hill, United States |
59.6 |
This is the tenth year in a row that MIT has won first place in the world, the University of Oxford has risen to second place in the world for the first time since 2006, while Stanford University and Cambridge University are tied for the third place.
In addition, Harvard University fell to the lowest ranking in the history of QS World University ranking, ranking fifth in the world.
China (Mainland): Tsinghua and Peking University are in the top 20, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai JiaoTong University ranked Top 50 in the world
In this year's ranking, two Chinese mainland universities are among the top 20 in the world: Tsinghua University and Peking University. In addition, three Chinese universities entered the top 50 of the world:
Fudan University (31st, goes up 3 places);
Zhejiang University ranks 45th and goes up 8 places. It is the first time of Zhejiang University and Shanghai Jiaotong University rank among the top 50 in the world.
Only two universities in Hong Kong have risen this year. The University of Hong Kong maintained its 22nd place, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University rose from 75th to 66th, achieving the best result in history.
List of Asia University Ranking Top 100
Asia: National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University rank highest in Asia:
QS World University Rankings 2022 Asia area Top 100 |
||||
Global Rank |
Asia Rank |
University |
Location |
Overall Score |
11 |
1 |
National University of Singapore (NUS) |
Singapore, Singapore |
93.9 |
12 |
2 |
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) |
Singapore, Singapore |
90.8 |
17 |
3 |
Tsinghua University |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
89 |
18 |
4 |
Peking University |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
88.8 |
22 |
5 |
The University of Hong Kong |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
86.3 |
23 |
6 |
The University of Tokyo |
Tokyo, Japan |
86.2 |
31 |
7 |
Fudan University |
Shanghai, China (Mainland) |
82.6 |
33 |
8 |
Kyoto University |
Kyoto, Japan |
82.3 |
34 |
9 |
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
82.2 |
36 |
10 |
Seoul National University |
Seoul, South Korea |
81.7 |
39 |
11 |
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
80.3 |
41 |
12 |
KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology |
Daejeon, South Korea |
79.1 |
45 |
13 |
Zhejiang University |
Hangzhou, China (Mainland) |
77.4 |
50 |
14 |
Shanghai Jiao Tong University |
Shanghai, China (Mainland) |
75.6 |
53 |
15 |
City University of Hong Kong |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
74.6 |
56 |
16 |
Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) |
Tokyo, Japan |
73.5 |
65 |
17 |
Universiti Malaya (UM) |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
69.8 |
66 |
18 |
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
69.1 |
68 |
19 |
National Taiwan University (NTU) |
Taipei City, Taiwan, China |
68.2 |
74 |
20 |
Korea University |
Seoul, South Korea |
66.3 |
75 |
21 |
Osaka University |
Osaka City, Japan |
66.2 |
79 |
22 |
Yonsei University |
Seoul, South Korea |
65.5 |
81 |
23 |
Pohang University of Science And Technology (POSTECH) |
Pohang , South Korea |
65.4 |
82 |
24 |
Tohoku University |
Sendai City, Japan |
65.2 |
97 |
25 |
Sungkyunkwan University(SKKU) |
Suwon, South Korea |
60.5 |
98 |
26 |
University of Science and Technology of China |
Hefei, China (Mainland) |
60.1 |
109 |
27 |
King Abdulaziz University (KAU) |
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
57.7 |
118 |
28 |
Nagoya University |
Nagoya, Japan |
56.2 |
131 |
29 |
Nanjing, China (Mainland) |
54.2 |
|
137 |
30 |
Kyushu University |
Fukuoka City, Japan |
53.3 |
143 |
31 |
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) |
Seri Kembangan, Malaysia |
52.2 |
144 |
32 |
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) |
Bangi, Malaysia |
52 |
145 |
33 |
Hokkaido University |
Sapporo, Japan |
51.4 |
147 |
34 |
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) |
Gelugor, Malaysia |
51 |
156 |
35 |
Hanyang University |
Seoul, South Korea |
49.8 |
163 |
36 |
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals |
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia |
48.1 |
175 |
37 |
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University |
Almaty, Kazakhstan |
46.8 |
177 |
38 |
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) |
Mumbai, India |
46.4 |
180 |
39 |
National Tsing Hua University |
Hsinchu City, Taiwan, China |
46.1 |
183 |
40 |
Khalifa University |
United Arab Emirates |
46 |
185 |
41 |
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) |
New Delhi, India |
45.9 |
186 |
42 |
Indian Institute of Science |
Bangalore, India |
45.7 |
191 |
43 |
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
Skudai, Malaysia |
45.1 |
198 |
44 |
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
Jerusalem, Israel |
44.5 |
201 |
45 |
Keio University |
Tokyo, Japan |
43.9 |
203 |
46 |
Waseda University |
Tokyo, Japan |
43.3 |
211 |
47 |
Shanghai, China (Mainland) |
42.5 |
|
212 |
48 |
Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) |
South Korea |
42.4 |
215 |
49 |
Chulalongkorn University |
Bangkok, Thailand |
41.9 |
224 |
50 |
Qatar University |
Doha, Qatar |
40.7 |
225 |
51 |
Wuhan, China (Mainland) |
40.4 |
|
236 |
52 |
Harbin, China (Mainland) |
39.6 |
|
242 |
53 |
American University of Beirut (AUB) |
Beirut , Lebanon |
39.2 |
250 |
54 |
Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) |
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |
38.6 |
252 |
55 |
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) |
Tainan City, Taiwan, China |
38.4 |
254 |
56 |
Gadjah Mada University |
Yogyakarta, Indonesia |
38.3 |
255 |
57 |
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) |
Chennai, India |
38.1 |
255 |
58 |
Mahidol University |
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand |
38.1 |
255 |
59 |
Tel Aviv University |
Tel Aviv, Israel |
38.1 |
260 |
60 |
Guangzhou, China (Mainland) |
37.4 |
|
264 |
61 |
Kyung Hee University |
South Korea |
37.2 |
268 |
62 |
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University |
Taiwan, China |
36.9 |
270 |
63 |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
36.7 |
|
275 |
64 |
Southern University of Science and Technology |
China (Mainland) |
36.5 |
277 |
65 |
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) |
Kanpur, India |
36.4 |
277 |
66 |
King Saud University |
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
36.4 |
280 |
67 |
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) |
Kharagpur, India |
36.3 |
285 |
68 |
University of Tsukuba |
Tsukuba City, Japan |
35.6 |
287 |
69 |
Hong Kong Baptist University |
Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR |
35.5 |
288 |
70 |
United Arab Emirates University |
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates |
35.4 |
290 |
71 |
Universitas Indonesia |
Depok, Indonesia |
35.1 |
290 |
72 |
Xi’an Jiaotong University |
Xi'an, China (Mainland) |
35.1 |
303 |
73 |
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) |
Bandung, Indonesia |
34.2 |
305 |
74 |
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) |
Gwangju, South Korea |
34.1 |
314 |
75 |
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) |
Taipei City, Taiwan, China |
33.6 |
322 |
76 |
University of Macau |
Macau SAR |
32.9 |
328 |
77 |
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU) |
Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan |
32.7 |
330 |
78 |
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology |
Haifa, Israel |
32.4 |
332 |
79 |
Taylor's University |
Subang Jaya, Malaysia |
32.3 |
334 |
80 |
Wuhan, China (Mainland) |
32.2 |
|
334 |
81 |
National Taiwan Normal University |
Taipei City, Taiwan, China |
32.2 |
334 |
82 |
Nankai, China (Mainland) |
32.2 |
|
343 |
83 |
Hiroshima University |
Higashihiroshima City, Japan |
31.8 |
344 |
84 |
Universiti Teknologi Brunei |
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |
31.7 |
347 |
85 |
UCSI University |
Malaysia |
31.4 |
358 |
86 |
Tianjin, China (Mainland) |
30.9 |
|
358 |
87 |
National University of Sciences And Technology (NUST) Islamabad |
Islamabad, Pakistan |
30.9 |
362 |
88 |
Ewha Womans University |
Seoul, South Korea |
30.8 |
368 |
89 |
Sultan Qaboos University |
Muscat, Oman |
30.4 |
373 |
90 |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
29.6 |
|
378 |
91 |
Quaid-i-Azam University |
Islamabad, Pakistan |
29.4 |
381 |
92 |
Sharif University of Technology |
Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of |
29.3 |
381 |
93 |
Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) |
Tokyo, Japan |
29.3 |
383 |
94 |
American University of Sharjah |
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates |
29.1 |
383 |
95 |
Beihang University (former BUAA) |
Beijing, China (Mainland) |
29.1 |
386 |
96 |
Kobe University |
Kobe City, Japan |
28.9 |
395 |
97 |
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) |
Guwahati, India |
28.3 |
398 |
98 |
Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) |
Islamabad, Pakistan |
28.2 |
399 |
99 |
University of the Philippines |
Quezon City, Philippines |
28.1 |
400 |
100 |
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) |
Roorkee, India |
28 |
The top two universities in Asia are still in Singapore: the National University of Singapore ranks 11th in the world, while Nanyang Technological University goes up 1 place, now ranks 12th in the world.
Nearly half of Japan's universities rankings fell from last year's QS ranking. Nevertheless, The University of Tokyo has risen 1 place, ranking 23rd in the world and sixth in Asia.
China Mainland Universities Achieved the Best in History
QS World University Rankings 2022 China Mainland |
||||
Global Rank |
China Rank |
Name |
Location |
Overall Score |
17 |
1 |
Tsinghua University |
Beijing, China |
89 |
18 |
2 |
Peking University |
Beijing, China |
88.8 |
31 |
3 |
Fudan University |
Shanghai, China |
82.6 |
45 |
4 |
Zhejiang University |
Hangzhou, China |
77.4 |
50 |
5 |
Shanghai Jiao Tong University |
Shanghai, China |
75.6 |
98 |
6 |
University of Science and Technology of China |
Hefei, China |
60.1 |
131 |
7 |
Nanjing University |
Nanjing, China |
54.2 |
211 |
8 |
Tongji University |
Shanghai, China |
42.5 |
225 |
9 |
Wuhan University |
Wuhan, China |
40.4 |
236 |
10 |
Harbin Institute of Technology |
Harbin, China |
39.6 |
260 |
11 |
Sun Yat-sen University |
Guangzhou, China |
37.4 |
270 |
12 |
Beijing Normal University |
Beijing, China |
36.7 |
275 |
13 |
Southern University of Science and Technology |
Guangzhou, China |
36.5 |
290 |
14 |
Xi’an Jiaotong University |
Xi'an, China |
35.1 |
334 |
15 |
Huazhong University of Science and Technology |
Wuhan, China |
32.2 |
334 |
16 |
Tianjin University |
Nankai, China |
32.2 |
358 |
17 |
Nankai University |
Tianjin, China |
30.9 |
373 |
18 |
Beijing Institute of Technology |
Beijing, China |
29.6 |
383 |
19 |
Beihang University (former BUAA) |
Beijing, China |
29.1 |
403 |
20 |
Jinan, China |
27.9 |
|
407 |
21 |
Guangzhou, China |
27.8 |
|
407 |
22 |
Xiamen, China |
27.8 |
|
414 |
23 |
Beijing, China |
27.4 |
|
436 |
24 |
Shanghai, China |
26.6 |
|
451 |
25 |
Chengdu, China |
25.8 |
|
465 |
26 |
Nanjing, China |
25.3 |
|
501-510 |
27 |
Changchun, China |
- |
|
521-530 |
28 |
Changsha, China |
- |
|
521-530 |
29 |
China University of Geosciences |
Wuhan, China |
- |
531-540 |
30 |
Shanghai, China |
- |
|
541-550 |
31 |
Xi'an, China |
- |
|
571-580 |
32 |
Dalian, China |
- |
|
571-580 |
33 |
Shanghai, China |
- |
|
571-580 |
34 |
Changsha, China |
- |
|
591-600 |
35 |
Chengdu, China |
- |
|
601-650 |
36 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
601-650 |
37 |
Nanjing, China |
- |
|
601-650 |
38 |
Renmin (People's) University of China |
Beijing, China |
- |
601-650 |
39 |
Shenzhen University |
Shenzhen, China |
- |
601-650 |
40 |
Suzhou, China |
- |
|
651-700 |
41 |
Chongqing, China |
- |
|
701-750 |
42 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
751-800 |
43 |
Jinan University (China) |
Guangzhou, China |
- |
751-800 |
44 |
Lanzhou, China |
- |
|
751-800 |
45 |
Northwest University (China) |
Xi'an, China |
- |
801-1000 |
46 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
47 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
48 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
49 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
50 |
Harbin, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
51 |
Nanjing, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
52 |
Wuhan, China |
- |
|
801-1000 |
53 |
Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University |
Suzhou, China |
- |
1001-1200 |
54 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
1001-1200 |
55 |
Shanghai, China |
- |
|
1001-1200 |
56 |
Beijing, China |
- |
|
1201+ |
57 |
Shanghai, China |
- |
|
1201+ |
58 |
Chongqing, China |
- |
Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University rank top 50 in the world.
The leading universities in Chinese mainland universities are still Tsinghua University, which ranks 17th in the world and 3rd in Asia.
Compared with last year, Peking University ranked 5 places higher, now the 18th in the world (4th in Asia). This is the first time Peking University has entered the top 20 in the world after 2006.
Apart from Tsinghua University and Peking University, there are more Chinese mainland universities get the best results in the QS World University Ranking history. These universities include:
Fudan University (31st place, goes up 3 places);
Zhejiang University (45th, goes up 8 places). It is the first time that Zhejiang University has made it into the world's top 50.
Tongji University (211th) and Harbin Institute of Technology (236th) entered the top 250 for the first time.
Wuhan University (225th, which ranks 246 in last year). Wuhan University has become one of the world's largest contributors to COVID-19 research, ranking in the top 10 in terms of COVID-19-related paper output, tied with Huazhong University of Science and Technology, which is the second-largest COVID-19 researcher in the world after Harvard University.
Sun Yat-sen University (260th, goes up 3 places);
Southern University of Science and Technology (275th) and Xi'an Jiaotong University (290th) entered the top 300 for the first time.
Overall, there are 58 universities from the China mainland in the 2022QS World University Rankings, seven ranks higher than last year's ranking. Of these, 32 have improved year by year (55.2 percent) and 13 have decreased (22.4 percent). 7 universities are listed for the first time.
QS World University Rankings – Methodology
The QS World University Rankings continue to enjoy a remarkably consistent methodological framework, compiled using six simple metrics that we believe effectively capture university performance. Since faculty area normalization was introduced in 2015 to ensure that institutions specializing in Life Sciences and Natural Sciences were not unduly advantaged, we have avoided fundamental changes. In doing so, we aim to ensure that year-on-year comparisons remain valid, and that unnecessary volatility is minimized.
Thus, universities continue to be evaluated according to the following six metrics:
- Academic Reputation
- Employer Reputation
- Faculty/Student Ratio
- Citations per faculty
- International Faculty Ratio
- International Student Ratio
Academic reputation (40%)
The highest weighting of any metric is allotted to an institution’s Academic Reputation score. Based on our Academic Survey, it collates the expert opinions of over 130,000 individuals in the higher education space regarding teaching and research quality at the world’s universities. In doing so, it has grown to become the world’s largest survey of academic opinion, and, in terms of size and scope, is an unparalleled means of measuring sentiment in the academic community.
Employer reputation (10%)
Students will continue to perceive a university education as a means by which they can receive valuable preparation for the employment market. It follows that assessing how successful institutions are at providing that preparation is essential for a ranking whose primary audience is the global student community.
Our Employer Reputation metric is based on over 75,000 responses to our QS Employer Survey and asks employers to identify those institutions from which they source the most competent, innovative, effective graduates. The QS Employer Survey is also the world’s largest of its kind.
Faculty/Student Ratio (20%)
Teaching quality is typically cited by students as the metric of the highest importance to them when comparing institutions using a ranking. It is notoriously difficult to measure, but we have determined that measuring teacher/student ratios is the most effective proxy metric for teaching quality. It assesses the extent to which institutions are able to provide students with meaningful access to lecturers and tutors and recognizes that a high number of faculty members per student will reduce the teaching burden on each individual academic.
Citations per faculty (20%)
Teaching is one key pillar of an institution’s mission. Another is research output. We measure institutional research quality using our Citations per Faculty metric. To calculate it, we take the total number of citations received by all papers produced by an institution across a five-year period by the number of faculty members at that institution.
To account for the fact that different fields have very different publishing cultures – papers concerning the Life Sciences are responsible for nearly half of all research citations as of 2015 – we normalize citations. This means that a citation received for a paper in Philosophy is measured differently to one received for a paper on Anatomy and Physiology, ensuring that, in evaluating an institution’s true research impact, both citations are given equal weight.
We use a five-year publication window for papers, so for this edition, we looked at papers published from 2015 to 2019. We then take a look at a six-year citation window; reflecting the fact that it takes time for research to be effectively disseminated. In this edition, we look for citations from 2015-2020.
All citations data is sourced using Elsevier’s Scopus database, the world’s largest repository of academic journal data. This year, QS assessed 96 million citations from 14.7 million papers once self-citations were excluded.
International faculty ratio/International student ratio (5% each)
A highly international university acquires and confers a number of advantages. It demonstrates an ability to attract faculty and students from across the world, which in turn suggests that it possesses a strong international brand. It implies a highly global outlook: essentially for institutions operating in an internationalized higher education sector. It also provides both students and staff alike with a multinational environment, facilitating the exchange of best practices and beliefs. In doing so, it provides students with international sympathies and global awareness: soft skills increasingly valuable to employers. Both of these metrics are worth 5% of the overall total.
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