Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2024

If you are considering studying in Asia, you may well wonder where to find its best universities. In that case, the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2024​ can help. This carefully compiled list evaluates more than 1,100 of the region's institutions, exploring their strength in areas that matter to students. Read on as we take you through the latest THE Asia University Rankings.

What do the rankings tell us?

Tsinghua University remains the top university in Asia, according to Times Higher Education. The Chinese institution has led this list for six consecutive years. It is followed by Peking University and the National University of Singapore in a top three that is unchanged from last year. Another Singaporean institution, Nanyang Technological University, places fourth, while the University of Tokyo climbs three positions to fifth.

Chinese universities are prominent. In addition to the Beijing institutions that make up the top two, another three from elsewhere in China appear in the top 10. This means that half of this part of the list can be found in the country, as well as 12 of the top 30.

At that level, some big changes can be seen. Most notably, China's Harbin Institute of Technology has risen 31 positions in a single year, placing 24th – its best ever result. The next largest climbs were made by institutions in Japan. Osaka University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology rose by 19 and 27 places respectively, ending side-by-side in 28th and 29th position.

If any of these places sound appealing, you might be interested in our top reasons to study in Asia.

The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2024​ top 10

Which countries perform well in the rankings?

As mentioned, universities in China take up many of the top positions on the list, including almost half of the top 30. This strength can also be seen further down the rankings, with the country contributing 33 of the top 100, and 52 of the top 200. What's more, these numbers are growing. Last year, there were only 45 Chinese universities in the top 200.

It is notable that all but two of the top 30 universities are based in East Asia, with the exception being those from Singapore. South Korean institutions make six appearances in this part of the list, while there are five each from Japan and Hong Kong. Completing the section is the National Taiwan University.

Institutions from other parts of Asia also perform strongly. The top university in India is the Indian Institute of Science, which rises 16 places to take 32nd position. This is the country's only appearance in the top 100. Within that part of the list, you will also find institutions from Macau, Malaysia, the UAE and Iran, showing that great universities can be found throughout the continent.

Here is the remainder of the top 30, in which you can see some of the biggest shifts in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2024​.

How are the rankings compiled?

The 2024 Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings reflect how universities perform in five different areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry and international outlook. Each one is measured using 17 performance indicators, which are all weighted and combined into an overall score for every institution on the list.

Here is how the weightings break down:

• Teaching: 24.5%
• Teaching reputation: 10%
• Staff-to-student ratio: 4.5%
• Doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio: 2%
• Doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio: 5.5%
• Institutional income: 2.5%

• Research environment: 28%
• Research reputation: 15%
• Research income: 6.5%
• Research productivity: 6.5%

• Research quality: 30%
• Citation impact: 7.5%
• Research strength: 7.5%
• Research excellence: 7.5%
• Research influence: 7.5%

• Industry: 10%
• Industry income: 5%
• Patents: 5%

• International outlook: 7.5%
• Proportion of international students: 2.5%
• Proportion of international staff: 2.5%
• International collaboration: 2.5%

How does this compare with global rankings?

These rankings are put together by the same organisation as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. While they use slightly different methodology, you can expect them to make a similar assessment of Asian institutions. The region's top three on the global list are the same as they are here: Tsinghua (12th), Peking (14th) and the National University of Singapore (19th).

The QS World University Rankings 2025 offer an alternative view. On this list, the National University of Singapore is the top Asian institution, placing 9th overall. Peking University follows in 14th, ahead of Nanyang Technological University in 15th. Tsinghua is only the fifth-highest in the region, at 20th in the world.

As this shows, different rankings often come with noticeably different results. Universities that perform well on one system do not always fare similarly with others, so no list has complete authority. Ultimately, you should only use rankings as one part of your study abroad preparation.

If you would like to keep exploring lists like the Asia University Rankings, you can find more on our university rankings page. We can also tell you much more about studying in Asia. Our guides to applying to study in Korea and Japanese higher education are great places to start. Alternatively, you could begin looking for courses in Asia with our simple search tool.