China leads as 3 Asian universities enter world's top 15 for first time

For the first time in the history of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, three Asian universities have entered the global top 15, led by two Chinese institutions.

In the THE World University Rankings 2027, released Sept. 30, Tsinghua University ranked 11th, Peking University 13th and the National University of Singapore (NUS) 15th, marking the highest ever positions in the rankings for Tsinghua and NUS.

The three universities' presence in the top 15 marks a milestone for Asian higher education, after the region's leading institutions failed to improve their positions in the 2026 edition.

THE said Asia had resumed its upward trajectory in 2027, while many traditional Western powerhouses recorded declines across several performance measures.

The THE World University Rankings assess universities across five areas: teaching, which measures the learning environment; research environment, covering volume, income and reputation; research quality, including citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence; international outlook, covering staff, students and research; and industry, which measures income and patents.

The methodology uses 17 performance indicators, with research quality carrying the largest weight at 30%, followed by teaching at 29.5% and research environment at 29%. International outlook accounts for 7.5%, while industry contributes 4%.

Tsinghua climbed from 12th to 11th in the 2027 rankings, while Peking remained 13th for the third consecutive year.

According to THE, both Chinese universities perform strongly in teaching, research and industry, but their international outlook remains a major weakness, particularly international research co-authorship.

Tsinghua scored 60.6 for international outlook and Peking 67.8, with both scoring only around 25 for international co-authorship.

THE analysis found that if Tsinghua raised its international outlook score to 80, it could rank eighth worldwide, while increasing its international co-authorship score to around 75 could potentially put it eighth or ninth.

China is investing heavily in universities and seeking to attract international students and researchers, but geopolitical tensions and its emphasis on research self-sufficiency could limit cross-border collaboration, THE said.

It noted that Chinese universities are increasingly taking a selective approach to internationalization, focusing on strategic fields and national priorities, leaving the timing of China's first top-10 university uncertain.

In Southeast Asia, NUS advanced from 17th to 15th, driven largely by stronger scores in teaching and research.

Graduates pose for a selfie during their commencement ceremony at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on July 23, 20026. Photo from the university's Facebook page

The university said in a report on its website that it has strengthened interdisciplinary education, research and partnerships while expanding efforts to develop AI skills among students and staff.

"We embedded interdisciplinary thinking into how our students learn, and built AI fluency into how they work. This is not a one-off result. It reflects intentional, sustained effort over many years," NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye was quoted as saying in the report.

Beyond the top 15, Asian universities continued to make gains.

Nanyang Technological University in Singapore climbed from joint 31st to 28th, while China increased its number of universities in the global top 200 from 13 to 17, with 71% improving their positions.

THE assessed 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories.

It described the results as evidence of a changing global higher education landscape, with Asian universities posting faster gains while universities in the U.S. and U.K. continue to benefit from strong reputations despite weaker performance across several other indicators.

However, the overall ranking remains dominated by universities in the U.S. and U.K.

The University of Oxford retained first place for the 11th consecutive year, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second. Princeton and Stanford shared third, while the University of Cambridge ranked fifth.

The top 15 universities of the THE World University Rankings 2027:

Rank	University	Country	Overall score
1	University of Oxford	United Kingdom	97.9
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	United States	97.8
3 (tie)	Princeton University	United States	97
3 (tie)	Stanford University	United States	97
5	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom	96.9
6	Harvard University	United States	96.7
7	California Institute of Technology	United States	96.5
8	Imperial College London	United Kingdom	95.2
9 (tie)	University of California, Berkeley	United States	94.3
9 (tie)	Yale University	United States	94.3
11	Tsinghua University	China	93.9
12	ETH Zurich	Switzerland	93.6
13	Peking University	China	92.8
14	University of Pennsylvania	United States	91.5
15	National University of Singapore	Singapore	91.1