Results of the 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (published 15 August)

Mainland China has continued to improve its performance in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, but the US and Europe still dominate the table.

China has 32 universities in the top 500 table, the same number as last year, but they are edging up the ranks. Seven of these are in the top 200, compared with six last year, now that Sun Yat-sen University has leaped from the 201-300 band to the 151-200 group. The country also still has six of its universities in the 201-300 band, after Jilin University moved up from the 301-400 band in last year’s table, which is based on research prowess and is compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Meanwhile, Japan’s performance has declined this year. The country has 18 institutions represented, down from 19, after Waseda University dropped off the table. Japan’s universities are also falling out of the upper echelons of the ranking: the country has one fewer institution in the top 200 (seven, compared with eight last year) and one more in the 401-500 band (six, compared with five last year).

Overall the US dominates the table, claiming more than half (51) the spots in the top 100. Harvard University is number one for the 13th year in a row. The rest of the top 10 also remains unchanged from last year, comprising Stanford University; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Cambridge; Princeton University; the California Institute of Technology; Columbia University; the University of Chicago; and the University of Oxford.

The UK has nine universities in the top 100, one more than last year, with the University of Warwick (92nd) making its debut in the top fifth of the table. However, many of the top UK institutions have slipped down the list: Imperial College London has dropped one place to 23rd, the University of Manchester has dropped three places to 41st, and the University of Edinburgh has dropped two places to 47th.

Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said that if the UK is to stay at the front of the pack, it must “fend off fierce competition from countries like China and Germany”.

She added: “Increasing funding in science, research and innovation is essential to keep our leading universities at the top of the table and to make sure the UK maximises its economic potential.”

ellie.bothwell@tesglobal.com

Below is a list of the top 100 institutions in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015 including links to the profiles of those institutions also featured in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-15.

Academic Ranking of World Universities 2015: top 100

