Three Israeli universities are among the top 100 institutions of higher learning in the world, according to rankings published Wednesday.

The 10th Academic Rankings of World Universities placed the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at number 53, four places higher than its 2011 ranking. It is the highest Israeli school on the list.

Haifa-based Technion was listed at 78, and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot was 93rd. It was the first time either of them entered the top 100 on the ARWU list.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

The top four universities were all in the US, with Harvard topping the list. England’s Cambridge was listed as number five.

Tel Aviv University was in the 101-150 bracket, while Bar-Ilan University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev were lower down on the list, in the 300-400 bracket. Specific numbers were not available below No. 100.

In a separate ranking, measuring only the sciences, Tel Aviv University joined the other three Israeli institutions in the top 100.

The Hebrew University had its highest ranking in mathematics, placing 16th in the world.

The survey of universities, conducted by researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and published by ARWU for the 10th time, is considered one of the world’s most accurate lists of academic rankings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the ranking saying it “demonstrates that the unprecedented investment” of NIS 7 billion during his term “in Israeli academia has yielded results.”

Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar also credited the improved rankings to the multi-year budget increase.