This week, the Shanghai Jiao Tong University released its latest annual Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). The United States continues to dominate global higher education rankings with 17 universities in the top 20 and 149 in the top 500.

Australian universities have been steadily improving. This year five institutions are in the top 100, representing 5 percent of universities in the top 100, ranking it third (behind the US and the UK). Australia has 19 universities, nearly half, in the top 500.

Australia’s Group of Eight universities, a coalition of leading research-intensive institutions, continue to lead. Melbourne has again taken out Australia’s top ranking place at 54, followed by the Australian National University (66^th), University of Queensland (85^th), University of Western Australia (91^st), University of Sydney (97^th), Monash and University of New South Wales at 105-150.

Hong Kong’s universities have slipped. The University of Hong Kong fell out of the top 200 into the 201-300 quintile and City University and Polytechnic University dropped out of the top 300 into the 301-400 quintile. The Chinese University of Hong Kong was again the top university in the city and was its sole representative in the top 200. The University of Science and Technology was the only other in the city not to fall down the rankings, remaining in the 201-300 category.

As many as 17 Chinese universities were included as well. Shanghai Fudan University leapt from the 201-300 zone into the top 200 and Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University remained in the top 200.

India’s higher educational institutions continues to struggle with only one institution, the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) ranked in the 300-400.

ARWU is based on indicators that include the number of alumni and staff who have won Nobel Prizes and the Fields Medal for mathematics; the number of “highly cited” researchers; and the number of articles published in the Nature and Science journals. About 1,200 universities are looked at in all.

Academic Ranking of World Universities

Related articles

• Harvard remains No. 1 on ‘Top 500’ list of schools (upi.com)
• American universities top Chinese world rankings (straitstimes.com)
• IISc Makes It To Top 500 Universities Ranking; No Other Indian Institutions Are On It (nextbigwhat.com)
• Top 100 Universities (lewrockwell.com)