Asian universities take on the West

The number of Asian universities in the top 100 of the THE-QS World University Rankings has risen from 14 to 16

There is a growing threat to the dominance of traditionally elite universities in the ranks of the world’s best, indicates the sixth edition of the Times Higher Education (THE)-QS World University Rankings. The number of North American universities in the top 100 has fallen from 42 in 2008 to 36 in 2009, showing the growing presence of Asian and European institutions in the world higher education arena.

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Of these, McGill was the highest ranked Canadian university. There are 39 European universities in the top 100, up from 36 in 2008. ETH Zurich is the top ranked continental European university at number 20.

The number of Asian universities in the top 100 rose from 14 to 16 institutions. The University of Tokyo, at No. 22, is the highest placed Asian university, ahead of the University of Hong Kong at No. 24. US and UK institutions, however, still dominate the top 10. Harvard remains numero uno.

Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009 Some of the top universities

2009 rank

2008 rank

Institute name

1

1

Harvard University

2

3

University of Cambridge

3

2

Yale University

4

7

UCL (University College London)

5

6

Imperial College London

5

4

University of Oxford

7

8

University of Chicago

8

12

Princeton University

9

9

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

10

5

California Institute of Technology

22

19

University of Tokyo

24

26

University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

25

25

Kyoto University, Japan

30

30

National University of Singapore, Singapore

35

39

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Hong Kong