Best universities in Asia 2024

By Anonymous (not verified), 30 April, 2024

The best universities in Asia 2024: the top 10

Scroll down for the full list of the best universities in Asia

Asia Rank 2024	Asia Rank 2023	University	Country/region	World University Rank 2024
1	1	Tsinghua University	China	12
2	2	Peking University	China	14
3	3	National University of Singapore	Singapore	19
4	5	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore	32
5	8	The University of Tokyo	Japan	29
6	4	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	35
7	=9	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China	43
8	=9	Fudan University	China	44
9	12	Zhejiang University	China	=55
10	6	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	53

The 2024 Asia University Rankings reveal the best colleges and universities in Asia, featuring institutions from 31 territories.

Japan leads the way with 119 universities in the ranking, while India comes second with 91 ranked institutions. China is the third most-represented country, with 86 universities.

China is the best represented region in the top 10, with four universities present.

The Asia University Rankings are based on the same 18 performance indicators as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings , but these have been recalibrated to reflect the attributes of Asia’s universities. Here’s the methodology in full.

Top five universities in Asia

1. Tsinghua University, China

Tsinghua University has been committed to a multidisciplinary system for more than 30 years, having undergone many changes since its establishment in 1911.

It is known as one of the most elite universities in China, admitting only those students who score extremely highly in the national exams.

The university offers 51 undergraduate programmes and more than 200 postgraduate degrees.

Tsinghua, which features in the top 20 in the overall THE World University Rankings, also achieves a top 40 position in all 11 of Times Higher Education’s subject rankings.

The campus is in northwest Beijing in a district specifically designated as a university hub. Its buildings feature examples of both traditional Chinese architecture and Western styles. Built on the former site of the Qing dynasty royal gardens, the campus has been named one of the most beautiful in the world.

Many graduates become influential at home and abroad, most notably in Chinese politics. Particle physicist Chen-Ning Yang is a Nobel prizewinner associated with the university.

2. Peking University, China

Peking University was the first modern national university in China, founded at the end of the 19th century.

Now it is known as a centre for progressive thought and research excellence. It has 216 research centres, two of which are national engineering institutions.

Although the university teaches and researches across the sciences, the social sciences and humanities, it particularly stands out internationally for physical sciences and engineering.

The university library is the largest of its kind in Asia, holding 11 million books and other resources.

After relocating in 1952, the main campus is now on the former site of the Qing dynasty imperial gardens and still has some of the original features and landscaping, including gardens, pagodas and historic buildings.

The entrance gates to the campus feature murals that are attractions in their own right.

On campus, there are specific dormitories for the 2,000 international students.

Many prominent thinkers in China are alumni of Peking University. Three Nobel prizewinners are also associated with the institution.

Best universities in Singapore
Best universities in China
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3. National University of Singapore, Singapore

The oldest institution in Singapore and the largest by student numbers, the National University of Singapore combines research excellence and innovation.

It ranks in the top 20 in the world overall, with particularly high scores for research and international outlook, and a standout performance in engineering and technology, law and computer science.

The entrepreneurial focus at the university dates back three decades to the formation of a dedicated centre for innovation and technopreneurship.

NUS uses Oxbridge-style teaching through small-group tutorials, and US-style course credits to make up the degree requirements. Degree programmes are more flexible than those in the UK; as in the US system, students may transfer between courses early in their degree programme and take modules across different faculties, and are required to have a broad, cross-disciplinary selection of courses.

Many students live on campus in one of the 6,000 residential places across various halls, all served by an internal shuttle bus to take them around campus.

Notable alumni include four Singaporean prime ministers and presidents, two Malaysian prime ministers and many other politicians, businesspeople and local luminaries.

4. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is a research-intensive university with three campuses in Singapore.

As well as featuring in the top five in the 2024 Asia University Rankings, the institution also ranks highly for engineering and technology, and computer science courses.

It consists of six colleges and schools as well as several research institutes, including Singapore’s National Institute of Education and the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

Spread over 80 hectares (200 acres), the Yunnan Garden Campus is the largest university campus in Singapore and is often considered one of the most beautiful campuses in the world.

5. The University of Tokyo, Japan

The University of Tokyo climbs three positions to enter into the top five this year. It is the highest ranking Japanese university in the Asia Rankings and the World University Rankings.

It was the first national university when it was established in 1877.

It provides courses across the academic spectrum and has 10 faculties, 15 graduate schools, 11 affiliated research institutes (including the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology), 13 university-wide centres, three main libraries and three institutes for advanced study.

The university has a slightly unusual course structure in that students follow a liberal arts programme at one campus during their first two years before transferring to another campus to study their chosen major.

The University of Tokyo can boast eight Nobel prizewinners, 15 Japanese prime ministers and five astronauts among its alumni.

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The best universities in Asia 2024: the top 100

Asia Rank 2024	Asia Rank 2023	University	Country/region	World University Rank 2024
1	1	Tsinghua University	China	12
2	2	Peking University	China	14
3	3	National University of Singapore	Singapore	19
4	5	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore	32
5	8	The University of Tokyo	Japan	29
6	4	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	35
7	=9	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China	43
8	=9	Fudan University	China	44
9	12	Zhejiang University	China	=55
10	6	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	53
11	15	University of Science and Technology of China	China	57
12	7	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong	=64
13	18	Kyoto University	Japan	=55
14	11	Seoul National University	South Korea	62
15	16	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	82
16	19	Nanjing University	China	73
17	13	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea	76
18	17	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea	83
19	14	The Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong	=87
20	34	Tohoku University	Japan	=130
21	22	Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)	South Korea	149
22	24	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea	=145
23	=29	Sichuan University	China	=150
24	55	Harbin Institute of Technology	China	=168
25	25	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	China	=158
26	=29	National Taiwan University (NTU)	Taiwan	=152
27	41	Tongji University	China	=185
28	47	Osaka University	Japan	=175
29	56	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Japan	=191
=30	27	Korea University	South Korea	201–250
=30	26	Wuhan University	China	=164
32	48	Indian Institute of Science	India	201–250
33	21	Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)	South Korea	=199
=34	42	Beijing Normal University	China	=177
=34	=61	Tianjin University	China	201–250
36	37	University of Macau	Macao	=193
37	=29	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Saudi Arabia	201–250
38	32	Tel Aviv University	Israel	201–250
39	=95	Xi’an Jiaotong University	China	251–300
40	=45	Khalifa University	United Arab Emirates	251–300
41	=49	Nagoya University	Japan	201–250
42	=35	Kyung Hee University	South Korea	251–300
43	=57	Hanyang University	South Korea	301–350
44	44	Sun Yat-sen University	China	201–250
45	=57	South China University of Technology	China	251–300
46	23	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	China	201–250
47	=92	Beijing Institute of Technology	China	251–300
48	=78	Southeast University	China	301–350
49	91	Beihang University	China	301–350
50	39	Sejong University	South Korea	251–300
51	90	Northwestern Polytechnical University	China	301–350
=52	108	Kyushu University	Japan	301–350
=52	28	Qatar University	Qatar	251–300
=52	63	Universiti Teknologi Petronas	Malaysia	301–350
55	=61	Nankai University	China	251–300
=56	33	China Medical University, Taiwan	Taiwan	301–350
=56	64	Sharif University of Technology	Iran	301–350
=58	NR	Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST)	South Korea	351–400
=58	=69	East China Normal University	China	301–350
=58	=35	Macau University of Science and Technology	Macao	251–300
=58	40	United Arab Emirates University	United Arab Emirates	301–350
62	94	Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)	South Korea	401–500
63	105	Hong Kong Baptist University	Hong Kong	301–350
64	85	National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University	Taiwan	401–500
65	66	University of Malaya	Malaysia	251–300
66	=86	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	China	351–400
67	=119	Chongqing University	China	351–400
68	=119	Amirkabir University of Technology	Iran	351–400
=69	52	Koç University	Turkey	351–400
=69	89	Middle East Technical University	Turkey	351–400
=71	=137	National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)	Taiwan	401–500
=71	=95	National Tsing Hua University	Taiwan	401–500
73	=78	Southern Medical University	China	351–400
74	123	Chung-Ang University	South Korea	401–500
=75	=49	Hebrew University of Jerusalem	Israel	301–350
=75	76	Sabancı University	Turkey	351–400
77	81	Xiamen University	China	301–350
78	=166	Dalian University of Technology	China	401–500
=79	=134	Hokkaido University	Japan	351–400
=79	74	Iran University of Science and Technology	Iran	401–500
81	67	Hunan University	China	351–400
82	=131	University of Tsukuba	Japan	351–400
83	43	Taipei Medical University	Taiwan	401–500
84	20	King Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia	251–300
85	=161	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia	Malaysia	401–500
86	=124	Technion Israel Institute of Technology	Israel	351–400
87	=177	Kyungpook National University	South Korea	501–600
88	=71	Shenzhen University	China	351–400
89	59	Abu Dhabi University	United Arab Emirates	251–300
90	112	Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)	Japan	401–500
91	=113	Ajou University	South Korea	501–600
92	=149	Istanbul Technical University	Turkey	501–600
93	251–300	Pusan National University	South Korea	501–600
94	=159	National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)	Taiwan	501–600
95	=183	Shanghai University	China	501–600
96	=45	University of Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	351–400
97	38	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia	401–500
98	201–250	China University of Petroleum, Beijing	China	501–600
99	=170	Universiti Sains Malaysia	Malaysia	401–500
100	=157	University of Tehran	Iran	401–500