In the annual higher education rankings released by international education market consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the National University of Singapore (NUS) was named the best university in Asia, while Nanyang Technological University (NTU) slipped several places.
In the rankings released on Thursday (June 9), NUS was ranked 11th globally, the same as last year, while NTU fell to 19th from 12th place last year.
In the rankings by the UK-based higher education analytics firm, NUS has held the top spot among Asian universities for the past five years, placing ahead of institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, The University of Edinburgh, Princeton University, and Yale University.
Meanwhile, NTU lost its position as the second-best in Asia, replaced by China’s Peking University.
This year’s QS rankings are the largest ever, including 1,418 universities, up from 1,300 last year. Globally, the top 10 continues to be dominated by universities from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped the list, with the University of Cambridge in the UK ranking second. Stanford University and Harvard University from the US, along with the UK’s Oxford University, rounded out the top five.
As with last year, the only university outside the US and UK to make the top 10 was the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, which ranked ninth.
QS evaluates institutions based on six indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty/student ratio, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio.
The results are based on 16.4 million academic papers published between 2016 and 2020 and the 117.8 million citations they received. They also incorporate the opinions of over 151,000 academic faculty and more than 99,000 employers.
This year, two new factors were also considered: employment outcomes and international research network, which measure the extent and volume of global collaboration.
QS said in a statement on Thursday that competition among the world’s top 20 universities is incredibly fierce.
It noted, “While NTU’s overall score only dropped by 2.4 points (from 90.8 to 88.4), even a small change can produce a substantial shift in the world rankings.”
The factors contributing to NTU’s decline in ranking were citations per faculty, employer reputation, and the faculty/student ratio.
Despite this, QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter said in the statement that NTU has ranked in the global top 20 for seven consecutive years and has risen from 58th place a decade ago. He said this is an achievement for an institution founded in 1991.
Mr. Sowter stated that Singapore’s two top universities remain the most outstanding higher education hubs outside of Europe and the United States.
He added, “Few universities can surpass NUS and NTU in attracting top international faculty from around the world, and their high level of research impact stems directly from this global perspective.”
He stated, “Singapore is a successful knowledge powerhouse that continues to punch above its weight.”
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Mr Sowter said that interdisciplinary research, enhancing graduate employability and job readiness, and integrating innovation and entrepreneurship into their learning experiences are some of the areas where NUS and NTU excel.
A spokesperson for NUS said, “We are delighted that the National University of Singapore is consistently recognized as one of the best universities in the world and in Asia. This is an affirmation of the tireless efforts of our educators and an endorsement of our clear future direction in education and research.”
“The university remains committed to nurturing flexible and resilient graduates through our interdisciplinary, experiential, and lifelong learning initiatives, while also developing a strong core of researchers with diverse capabilities to deepen the translational impact of our research. Our goal is to continuously transform lives and create a positive impact beneficial to Singapore and society as a whole.”
A spokesperson for NTU stated that according to the latest QS rankings, as well as rankings from Times Higher Education, Nature Index, and U.S. News & World Report, NTU is one of the world’s leading universities and has maintained or improved its position in the global top 50 over the past few years.
She stated, “As all university rankings fluctuate, performance is assessed based on various university rankings and over a multi-year timeframe, rather than focusing on a single metric in a specific year.”
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