Continued Rise of Asia in University Rankings

The fifth annual edition of QS University Rankings: Asia points to a five-year shift in the international balance of power, with several ambitious Asian institutions making strides towards becoming genuine global competitors.

This year’s edition of QS University Rankings: Asia is topped by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), ahead of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University (HKU).

Yet this year is only part of the story. Five years of accumulated data drawn from the regional rankings and the overall QS World University Rankings paint a picture of upward mobility for Asian universities, as the region’s economic boom contrasts with the gloomy outlook in the West.

Asian universities closing gap with West

Mirroring global economic trends, Asian universities have made up significant ground on their Western peers in the period following the financial crisis. There has been a 17% increase in the number of Asian universities in the global top 200 during the last five years. The number of Asian institutions in the elite global top 50 has grown from nine to 11.

The rapid speed of change in the region is on display in a complementary ranking, the QS Top 50 Under 50, which this year ranks universities established since 1963. Asia boasts five of the world’s top six young institutions, perhaps a forecast of a future realignment of the global balance of power from West to East.

As Western governments struggle to maintain funding levels, Asian institutions have rapidly increased their ability to attract the world’s best faculty and students. The rankings show a five-year surge in international students studying at ranked institutions in Asia, from 175,286 to 255,212, while total international faculty has grown from 21,223 to 35,677.

Both on a regional and global level, the overriding message from five years’ worth of rankings data is clear: money matters. The changes in the relative fortunes of universities in the region correlate closely with the ability of governments to keep pace with the unprecedented investments being made in higher education in the region.

The booming economies of Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea have helped to establish their universities as major forces, while the inexorable rise of Mainland China is clearly in evidence. In contrast, Japan is clearly struggling to keep pace with the improvements made by its upwardly mobile regional peers.