Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

THE Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) ranks eighth among China’s 72 mainland universities on the list of The Times Higher Education World University Rankings released Wednesday.

It is the first time that SUSTech has been listed on the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine ranking.

The ranking shows that SUSTech has performed well, especially regarding research, citations and international outlook.

SUSTech had more citations by global scholars than any other mainland university on average, giving it the No. 1 domestic ranking for excellence in citations.

The ranking evaluates universities across teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industrial income indices by using 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons of over 1,000 of the best universities from 86 countries and regions around the world.

“I would like to offer my huge congratulations to SUSTech in China — a new university, only 6 years old — that has taken a position in the top 350.

It’s a remarkable achievement for such a young institution and a testament to the outstanding commitment to excellence in teaching and research across China. It’s China’s highest new entrant to the rankings,” said Phil Baty, editorial director of Global Rankings at Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Tsinghua University has become the highest-ranking university in Asia, according to the ranking result.

The world university ranking, including more than 1,250 universities this year, is topped by the University of Oxford for the second year in a row. In second is the University of Cambridge, with Stanford University in the United States ranking third.

Tsinghua University has risen eight places to 22nd to overtake the National University of Singapore (NUS), which is ranked 23rd, becoming the top university in Asia.

THE World University Rankings is a trusted global university performance table that evaluates research-intensive universities across their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.