WANT to study in Asia? Hong Kong could be the best place to head to, with three of its universities making it into top 10 on the Times Higher Education (THE) Asian University Rankings 2018.
Singapore still occupies top spot but for the first time, Hong Kong is the most represented territory in the top 10. A total of six of the territory’s universities also made it into the top 60.
The rankings are as follows:
1. National University of Singapore
2. Tsinghua University, China
3. Peking University, China
4. University of Hong Kong
=5. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
=5. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
7. Chinese University of Hong Kong
8. University of Tokyo, Japan
9. Seoul National University, South Korea
10. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea
The University of Hong Kong rose from fifth to fourth place and the University of Science and Technology rose from sixth to fifth.
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Second-tier institutions are not growing at the same rate as elite ones
Despite the victory, however, the rankings publisher claimed there is a widening gap between Hong Kong’s elite and second-tier universities. Considering data from all Hong Kong’s institutions, on average, the score for research and international outlook increased.
However, three institutions dropped down the rankings. City University and Polytechnic University lost two places each, dropping to 14th and 19th respectively, despite receiving higher overall scores from the previous year.
Baptist University took the biggest hit, dropping six places in the rankings from 49th to 55th.
Source: Andrii Zhezhera/Shutterstock
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Acting Rankings Editor Ellie Bothwell told South China Morning Post the universities only dropped spots because other schools are improving at a much faster rate.
“With a population of just seven million people, it is an extraordinary achievement to boast six institutions within the top 60 in Asia,” THE’s Editorial Director of Global Rankings Phil Baty said.
“However, while Hong Kong is still one of the strongest territories in the table, the gap between its elite and second-tier institutions is widening,” he said. “As higher education competition heats up across the continent, Hong Kong’s lower-ranked universities are at risk of declining further in future years.”
This article originally appeared on our sister website Study International
