Best universities in the Asia-Pacific region 2017

Times Higher Education has launched its first Asia-Pacific University Ranking 2017 to reflect the region’s growing strength in the higher education sector.

THE’s Asia-Pacific University Ranking 2017 analysed universities across 38 nations in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania. The overall ranking features just over 200 universities from 13 different nations.

The ranking uses the same performance indicators as the THE World University Rankings 2016-17, however the weightings were adjusted to reflect the younger profile of some of the universities in the region. The full methodology can be found here.

Japan is the most-represented nation with 69 universities featured. China is in second place with 52 universities. Other countries with a strong presence in the ranking are Australia (35 universities), Taiwan (26), South Korea (25) and Thailand (nine).

Universities from China and Singapore dominate the top five places. The only university outside Asia to appear in the top five is the University of Melbourne in third place. The other four universities are the National University of Singapore (in first place), Peking University (second place), Tsinghua University (fourth place) and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (fifth place).

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Top five universities in Asia-Pacific region

Scroll down for the full list of top universities in the region

1. National University of Singapore

The National University of Singapore is a highly international university with more than half the student body made up of international students. It has overseas colleges in many different locations including Israel, Germany, the US and Sweden. It has also formed collaborations with leading US institutions Duke University and Yale University.

The university has 17 schools across three campuses in Singapore and regularly ranks highly in both the Asia University Rankings and the THE World University Rankings.

The university started as a medical school in 1905 and has since developed to be one of Asia’s flagship universities. It was established as the National University of Singapore after the merger of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University in 1980.

2. Peking University

The university was founded in 1898 and was the first national university in Chinese modern history. The teaching language for undergraduates is English, while graduate-level programmes are taught in either English or Chinese. It is the leading liberal arts university in China and also has a large mathematics and science faculty. The university consists of 31 colleges and 14 departments.

It has the largest university library in China containing more than 4 million volumes, including more than 1 million thread-bound Chinese books.

Many of the buildings on campus retain their original Chinese-style design and structure including traditional houses, gardens and pagodas, as well as many notable historic buildings and structures.

3. University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public research institution and Australia’s second-oldest university. Four Australian prime ministers have graduated from the institution and nine Nobel laureates have been associated with it.

The undergraduate curriculum is unusual for Australia since it offers nine generalised three-year degrees instead of more specialised undergraduate courses. This style of teaching has been labelled the “Melbourne Model”. The university also offers postgraduate courses.

Melbourne is one of the leading research universities in Australia and some of the research developed there has been adapted throughout the world. In the 1970s, research at the institution led to the first successful cochlear implant. Since 1984, more than 220,000 people worldwide have received a cochlear implant.

4. Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University is one of the most selective institutions in the world and a comprehensive research university. Its 20 schools and 54 departments cover subjects in art, economics, education, engineering, history, management, medicine, law, literature, philosophy and the sciences.

Tsinghua has more than 110 student associations and groups covering five areas: science and technology, physical training, humanities, arts and public welfare.

Tsinghua campus is in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district, which was traditionally reserved specifically for universities and other academic institutes.

5. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is a relatively young research-intensive institution and is considered Singapore’s main science and technology university. It was formally established in 1991 through the merger of Nanyang Technological Institute and the National Institute of Education.

The university has three campuses: Yunnan Garden, NTU @one-north, and Novena. Yunnan Garden is the biggest in Singapore and has been voted one of the top 15 most beautiful campuses in the world. Yunnan is also an eco-friendly campus and the university has pledged to become the greenest campus in the world by 2022.

Best universities in the Asia-Pacific region

Asia-Pacific rank 2017	THE World University rank 2016-17	University	Country/region
1	24	National University of Singapore	Singapore
2	29	Peking University	China
3	=33	University of Melbourne	Australia
4	35	Tsinghua University	China
5	54	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore
6	=43	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
7	49	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong
8	47	Australian National University	Australia
9	39	University of Tokyo	Japan
10	=60	University of Queensland	Australia
11	=60	University of Sydney	Australia
12	74	Monash University	Australia
13	=89	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea
14	=72	Seoul National University	South Korea
15	=104	Pohang University of Science and Technology	South Korea
16	=78	University of New South Wales	Australia
17	76	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
18	119	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong
19	125	University of Western Australia	Australia
20	142	University of Adelaide	Australia
21	=137	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea
22	=91	Kyoto University	Japan
23	=153	University of Science and Technology of China	China
24	=165	University of Auckland	New Zealand
25	155	Fudan University	China
26	201—250	University of Technology Sydney	Australia
27	=192	Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong
28	201—250	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China
29	201—250	Zhejiang University	China
30	201—250	Korea University	South Korea
31	201—250	University of Otago	New Zealand
32	201—250	Queensland University of Technology	Australia
33	=195	National Taiwan University	Taiwan
34	201—250	Nanjing University	China
35	201—250	University of Newcastle	Australia
36	251—300	University of South Australia	Australia
37	201—250	Tohoku University	Japan
=38	251—300	Charles Darwin University	Australia
=38	251—300	Macquarie University	Australia
40	251—300	University of Wollongong	Australia
41	251—300	Yonsei University	South Korea
42	251—300	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Japan
=43	251—300	Griffith University	Australia
=43	251—300	James Cook University	Australia
45	301—350	Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology	South Korea
46	251—300	Osaka University	Japan
47	251—300	National Tsing Hua University	Taiwan
48	301—350	University of Tasmania	Australia
49	251—300	Deakin University	Australia
50	301—350	Nagoya University	Japan
51	351—400	Kyung Hee University	South Korea
52	351—400	Hanyang University	South Korea
53	401—500	National Chiao Tung University	Taiwan
54	351—400	University of Canterbury	New Zealand
55	351—400	Victoria University	Australia
56	351—400	Toyota Technological Institute	Japan
57	401—500	National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech)	Taiwan
=58	351—400	La Trobe University	Australia
=58	351—400	Victoria University of Wellington	New Zealand
60	351—400	Swinburne University of Technology	Australia
61	351—400	University of Macau	Macao
=62	351—400	Kyushu University	Japan
=62	401—500	Murdoch University	Australia
64	351—400	Flinders University	Australia
=65	401—500	National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)	Taiwan
=65	401—500	Sun Yat-sen University	China
=67	351—400	Hong Kong Baptist University	Hong Kong
=67	401—500	Wuhan University	China
=69	401—500	Curtin University	Australia
=69	401—500	Western Sydney University	Australia
71	401—500	Lincoln University	New Zealand
72	401—500	Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU)	Japan
=73	401—500	Ewha Womans University	South Korea
=73	401—500	RMIT University	Australia
75	401—500	University of Tsukuba	Japan
76	401—500	Hokkaido University	Japan
77	401—500	Central Queensland University	Australia
78	401—500	University of Waikato	New Zealand
79	401—500	Chung-Ang University	South Korea
80	501—600	Tongji University	China
=81	401—500	University of Canberra	Australia
=81	401—500	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	China
83	501—600	University of Ulsan	South Korea
84	501—600	China Medical University, Taiwan	Taiwan
85	401—500	Massey University	New Zealand
86	401—500	Tokyo Metropolitan University	Japan
=87	501—600	Soochow University	China
=87	501—600	Southeast University	China
89	401—500	Renmin University of China	China
90	501—600	Harbin Institute of Technology	China
91	501—600	East China Normal University	China
=92	501—600	Southern Cross University	Australia
=92	501—600	Xi’an Jiaotong University	China
94	501—600	Tianjin University	China
95	501—600	East China University of Science and Technology	China
96	501—600	Edith Cowan University	Australia
=97	501—600	Bond University	Australia
=97	401—500	Xiamen University	China
99	501—600	National Taiwan Normal University	Taiwan
100	501—600	Pusan National University	South Korea
101–110	501—600	Auckland University of Technology	New Zealand
101–110	501—600	China Agricultural University	China
101–110	501—600	Hiroshima University	Japan
101–110	501—600	Mahidol University	Thailand
101–110	601—800	National Sun Yat-Sen University	Taiwan
101–110	501—600	Sejong University	South Korea
101–110	501—600	Sogang University	South Korea
101–110	601—800	South China University of Technology	China
101–110	501—600	University of the Sunshine Coast	Australia
101–110	601—800	Taipei Medical University	Taiwan
111–120	601—800	Australian Catholic University	Australia
111–120	601—800	Chiba University	Japan
111–120	601—800	Dalian University of Technology	China
111–120	601—800	Kanazawa University	Japan
111–120	601—800	Keio University	Japan
111–120	601—800	King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi	Thailand
111–120	601—800	Nanjing Medical University	China
111–120	601—800	National Central University	Taiwan
111–120	501—600	National Yang-Ming University	Taiwan
111–120	601—800	Yeungnam University	South Korea
121–130	601—800	Beijing Institute of Technology	China
121–130	601—800	Chang Gung University	Taiwan
121–130	601—800	China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)	China
121–130	601—800	China University of Petroleum (Beijing)	China
121–130	601—800	Ehime University	Japan
121–130	601—800	Nanjing Agricultural University	China
121–130	601—800	Osaka City University	Japan
121–130	601—800	Universiti Putra Malaysia	Malaysia
121–130	601—800	Sichuan University	China
121–130	601—800	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia	Malaysia
131–140	601—800	Inha University	South Korea
131–140	601—800	Kobe University	Japan
131–140	601—800	Kochi University	Japan
131–140	601—800	Konkuk University	South Korea
131–140	601—800	Kumamoto University	Japan
131–140	601—800	Northeast Normal University	China
131–140	601—800	Northwestern Polytechnical University	China
131–140	601—800	Universiti Teknologi Petronas	Malaysia
131–140	601—800	Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology	Japan
131–140	601—800	Waseda University	Japan
141–150	601—800	Chulalongkorn University	Thailand
141–150	601—800	Feng Chia University	Taiwan
141–150	601—800	Hunan University	China
141–150	601—800	Jilin University	China
141–150	601—800	Juntendo University	Japan
141–150	601—800	Nagoya City University	Japan
141–150	601—800	Northeastern University	China
141–150	601—800	Okayama University	Japan
141–150	601—800	Universiti Sains Malaysia	Malaysia
141–150	601—800	University of Science and Technology Beijing	China
141–150	601—800	University of Southern Queensland	Australia
141–150	601—800	Yokohama City University	Japan
151–160	601—800	Ajou University	South Korea
151–160	601—800	Capital Medical University	China
151–160	601—800	Kaohsiung Medical University	Taiwan
151–160	601—800	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia	Malaysia
151–160	601—800	National Taiwan Ocean University	Taiwan
151–160	601—800	Shantou University	China
151–160	601—800	Tokushima University	Japan
151–160	601—800	Tokyo University of Science	Japan
161–170	601—800	Chiang Mai University	Thailand
161–170	601—800	Chonbuk National University	South Korea
161–170	601—800	Chonnam National University	South Korea
161–170	601—800	Chung Yuan Christian University	Taiwan
161–170	> 800	King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang	Thailand
161–170	601—800	Kyungpook National University	South Korea
161–170	601—800	Nanjing Normal University	China
161–170	601—800	National Chung Cheng University	Taiwan
161–170	601—800	National Chung Hsing University	Taiwan
161–170	601—800	Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT)	Japan
171–180	601—800	Asia University, Taiwan	Taiwan
171–180	> 800	Chongqing University	China
171–180	601—800	Jikei University School of Medicine	Japan
171–180	601—800	Kindai University	Japan
171–180	601—800	Nagoya Institute of Technology	Japan
171–180	> 800	National Taipei University of Technology	Taiwan
171–180	601—800	Shinshu University	Japan
171–180	601—800	Suranaree University of Technology	Thailand
171–180	601—800	Yamagata University	Japan
171–180	601—800	Yuan Ze University	Taiwan
181–190	> 800	Central South University	China
181–190	> 800	Nagaoka University of Technology	Japan
181–190	601—800	Nagasaki University	Japan
181–190	601—800	Niigata University	Japan
181–190	> 800	Ocean University of China	China
181–190	> 800	Shanghai University	China
181–190	> 800	University of Toyama	Japan
181–190	> 800	Xidian University	China
181–190	601—800	University of Yamanashi	Japan
181–190	> 800	Yokohama National University	Japan
191–200	> 800	China University of Mining and Technology	China
191–200	> 800	Chuo University	Japan
191–200	> 800	Gifu University	Japan
191–200	> 800	Jinan University	China
191–200	> 800	Khon Kaen University	Thailand
191–200	> 800	Nanjing Tech University	China
191–200	> 800	Osaka Prefecture University	Japan
191–200	> 800	Prince of Songkla University	Thailand
191–200	> 800	Saitama University	Japan
191–200	> 800	Saitama Medical University	Japan
191–200	> 800	Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology	Japan
191–200	> 800	Xiangtan University	China
200+	> 800	Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)	Indonesia
200+	> 800	Chiba Institute of Technology	Japan
200+	> 800	Chungnam National University	South Korea
200+	> 800	Doshisha University	Japan
200+	> 800	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	China
200+	> 800	Fu Jen Catholic University	Taiwan
200+	> 800	Gunma University	Japan
200+	> 800	Hallym University	South Korea
200+	> 800	Hosei University	Japan
200+	> 800	I-Shou University	Taiwan
200+	> 800	University of Indonesia	Indonesia
200+	> 800	Iwate University	Japan
200+	> 800	Jiangsu University	China
200+	> 800	Kansai University	Japan
200+	> 800	Kasetsart University	Thailand
200+	> 800	Kwansei Gakuin University	Japan
200+	> 800	Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech)	Japan
200+	> 800	Meiji University	Japan
200+	> 800	Ming Chuan University	Taiwan
200+	> 800	National Chengchi University	Taiwan
200+	> 800	Oita University	Japan
200+	> 800	University of the Philippines	Philippines
200+	> 800	Ritsumeikan University	Japan
200+	> 800	University of Seoul	South Korea
200+	> 800	Shaanxi Normal University	China
200+	> 800	Shibaura Institute of Technology Tokyo	Japan
200+	> 800	Shimane University	Japan
200+	> 800	Shizuoka University	Japan
200+	> 800	Showa University	Japan
200+	> 800	Sophia University	Japan
200+	> 800	Southwest Jiaotong University	China
200+	> 800	Tamkang University	Taiwan
200+	> 800	Universiti Teknologi MARA	Malaysia
200+	> 800	Tokai University	Japan
200+	> 800	Tokyo City University	Japan
200+	> 800	Tokyo Denki University	Japan
200+	> 800	Tottori University	Japan
200+	> 800	Universiti Utara Malaysia	Malaysia
200+	> 800	Utsunomiya University	Japan
200+	> 800	Wuhan University of Technology	China
200+	> 800	Yamaguchi University	Japan