Asia’s top 5 universities

Asian universities, including the ones from Bangladesh struggle to secure any remarkable positions in international higher education rankings.

Dhaka University has been placed in a position between 301st and 350th among Asian universities and it is not even within 1,000 top universities ranked globally.

This is partly because some Asian universities lack quality research activities and partly for other indicators.

However, some universities are performing well. Here are the five top universities in Asia according to Times Higher Education rankings.   

National University of Singapore

Singapore’s flagship university National University of Singapore (NUS) has stood first in Times Higher Education Asian university ranking for 2018. This university offers a global approach to education and research with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. It has 17 schools across three campus locations in Singapore. The university has about 38,000 students from 100 countries.

The university has 30 university-level research institutes and centres, and three Research Centres of Excellence which cover a wide range of themes including energy, environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases common among Asians; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems.

Globally the university’s ranking is 22nd according to Times Higher Education index.

Tsinghua University

China’s Tsinghua University is at the second position in Times Higher Education Asian university ranking. The university was founded in 1911.  Its campus is situated on the site of the former imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty, and surrounded by a number of historical sites in northwest Beijing. The university has 42,089 students and 9 per cent of them are international students. Among world university, its position is 30th.

Peking University

China’s Peking University is at the third position among Asian universities. The university was founded in 1898. It has 35,000 students and 16 per cent of them are international students. It is considered a very prestigious university in China and only those who score highest in nationwide examinations are enrolled. Its campus is situated in 274-hectare area in Beijing’s Haidian District. Some 53 of its faculties are members of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences, and seven of the equivalent academy of engineering. It is at 27th position among world universities.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU)

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is at the forth position among Asian universities. It is a research driven university and its 111 professors are ranked in the top 1% scientists globally. The university has more than 30,000 students and 9,000 of them are international students from 104 countries. It ranks 40th in the world university ranking. Almost 60 per cent of its professors are from overseas. It is considered a very prestigious university in Hong Kong and 79 per cent of Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education top scorers chose to study with HKU in 2016.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is ranked fifth among Asian universities in Times Higher Education index for 2018. The university was established in 1991. It is a world-class international research university dedicated to cutting-edge education and research. In 2017, the university was ranked second among the world’s top 200 young universities by Times Higher Education. Its ranking among world universities is 44. It has 10,214 students and 31 per cent of them are international students.