National University of Singapore rises to top ranking in Asia
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has pipped two Hong Kong rivals to finish No 1 for the first time in a ranking of Asian universities.
“NUS completes its remarkable ascent to the top of the table, having placed 10th when the rankings were first compiled in 2009,” said London-based education and career consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which released the results this morning.
It was rated top in Asia by a survey of over 8,000 graduate employers, and also makes the top five for academic reputation and research citations.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) also moved up in the ranking, rising three places to seven, its highest-ever position.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines (UP) and University of Santo Tomas (UST) posted higher rankings in this year’s list.
In addition to UP and UST, Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), De La Salle University (DLSU) and Ateneo de Davao University made it to the top 300.
The rankings are based on nine indicators, with different weights: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per paper, papers per faculty, international faculty, international students, inbound exchange students, and outbound exchange students.
UP’s ranking went up four places from top 67 last year to top 63 in 2014 after scoring 58.70. Although the university had high scores in academic and employer reputation, it had dismal scores in terms of inbound and outbound exchange.
UP president Alfredo Pascual said the improvement in the university’s scores could be attributed to “efforts to increase funds and incentives for research, upgrading our facilities and laboratories, proving support for PhD and Master’s scholarships.”
The statement said it was UP’s highest ranking since 2011.
Meanwhile, UST ranked 141 with a score of 42.4, an improvement of nine places from its 150 rank in 2013. The institution ranked top 12 in Asia in terms of citations per paper. However, it also had low scores when it came to papers per faculty, inbound exchange and outbound exchange.
From top 109, AdMU’s ranking dipped to 115 this year as it posted lower scores in inbound and outbound exchange. This is amid the school’s improved employer reputation.
DLSU maintained its position in the 151-160 bracket amid ranking as high as 76 in 2009 and 106 in 2010.
