For the first time, three Asian universities have entered the top 15 of a major global ranking. In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, Tsinghua University is 11th. Peking University is 13th, and the National University of Singapore is 15th. For Tsinghua and the Singapore university, these are their highest positions ever. The list was released on September 30.
The ranking judges universities on teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook, and industry. Research quality carries the largest weight, at 30 percent. According to the publisher, the two Chinese universities perform strongly in teaching, research, and industry. Their weak point is international outlook, especially research written together with foreign partners. The analysis suggests Tsinghua could rank eighth if that score rose to 80. Meanwhile, the Singapore university climbed from 17th to 15th, helped by stronger teaching and research. It says it has built interdisciplinary learning and AI skills into its programs.