National Taiwan University (NTU) ranked 127th in Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s most recent annual ranking of world universities released on Friday.
NTU, one of Taiwan’s most highly regarded academic institutions, moved up 23 notches from the year before, vaulting past the National University of Singapore for the first time since the index began ranking worldwide universities in 2003.
The National University of Singapore ranked 145th, falling from 140th in last year’s ranking.
Among Taiwanese schools listed in the top 500, Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University was ranked 256th, followed by National Chiao Tung University at 313th and National Tsing Hua University at 314th.
In Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong was the highest ranked, at 179th, advancing 56 notches from its previous ranking. It was followed by the University of Hong Kong at 207th.
Beijing-based Tsinghua University was ranked the best university in China, placing 191st in the ranking. Peking University, also located in Beijing, ranked 199th and was followed by Zhejiang University at 213.
Harvard University in the US remained ranked as the world’s top university for the eighth year in a row, while the University of Tokyo in Japan, which ranked 20th, was ranked the best university in Asia.
The universities were evaluated based on criteria such as the number of Nobel prizes and Fields medals won by staff and alumni, the number of highly cited researchers on staff, and the number of articles by faculty published in Nature and Science magazines.
NTU said its move up the ladder proved the success of the government’s project to help domestic universities rank among the world’s best academic centers. It attributed much of its progress to scoring higher for the number of highly cited researchers on staff.
The number of articles by faculty published in renowned academic magazines also helped improve its ranking, NTU said.
Beginning in 2005, the government subsidized top universities to upgrade fundamental facilities, improve the content of the curriculum and integrate research centers to help them rank among the world’s top universities.
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