Chinese universities gradually rise into the world's top 10

China's two top universities ranked 12th and 14th respectively in the 2024 world university rankings, threatening the dominant positions of British and American schools.

Times Higher Education (THE), a prestigious magazine on higher education, announced the World University Rankings 2024 on September 27. The list of the top 10 universities has not changed much, all are familiar names such as Oxford University (UK), Stanford University, Harvard University (USA)...

A notable point in this year’s rankings is that representatives from China are getting closer to the top 10 universities in the world. Tsinghua University ranked 12th, up 4 places from last year. Meanwhile, Peking University also rose 3 places to 14th place.

China now has 13 institutions in the world’s top 200 universities, seven more than four years ago. Each of them has moved up significantly from last year’s rankings. In the top 400, China has 30 institutions, double the number in 2021.

Denis Simon, a China expert, is positive about the possibility of Chinese universities entering the top 10. According to him, China's development is the highlight of the 21st century, so it is not surprising that the country's higher education system continues to improve.

“The progress of universities in China is built on a foundation of international commitments to higher education cooperation,” said Denis.

Students at Peking University, China, at their graduation ceremony, July 2023. Photo: Peking University Fanpage — Students at Peking University, China, at their graduation ceremony, July 2023. Photo: *Peking University Fanpage*

According to Ming Cheng, professor at the Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, although the UK and the US still lead the world university rankings, their strength is waning.

“Universities in both countries could consider learning from China’s good practices and appreciate cultural and ideological differences a little more,” she said.

Professor Cheng added that this trend predicts that the power of the knowledge economy is gradually shifting from West to East. This may encourage more international students to study in China in the future.

The improvement in Chinese university rankings is attributed to schools' increasing interest in rankings data, generous government funding, and commitment to internationalization, educational reform, and research innovation.

Chinese universities have increased their average scores in teaching and research quality. In terms of scientific research - a criterion that is highly weighted in the rankings - the average score of Chinese universities has increased by 12 percentage points compared to last year.

However, many experts also warn of the difficulties that Chinese higher education may encounter.

Professor Cheng argues that financial resources and geopolitics could hamper growth. Denis Simon warns that while Chinese universities are strong, those outside the top 25 in the country are showing a marked decline in quality, unlike the US, where students receive world-class education at around 100 institutions.

“China must be very careful not to create a bifurcated education system where there are only a few elite universities and the majority are middle-class,” Denis said, adding that the country should invest in broad-based education, infrastructure and libraries to narrow the current disparities.

A building on the Tsinghua University campus. Photo: Tsinghua University Fanpage — A building on the Tsinghua University campus. Photo: *Tsinghua University Fanpage*

China currently has about 2,700 universities. The country started building world-class universities nearly 30 years ago. In 1995, China launched the 211 program, investing in the construction of about 100 national key universities.

Three years later, the Chinese government launched Project 985, which aims to build world-class Chinese universities. Tsinghua and Peking were the first two universities to join the project for three consecutive years, receiving an annual investment of more than 1.8 billion yuan (over 6,100 billion VND). To date, nearly 40 universities have been selected to participate in the project.

In 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced the World Class 2.0 national program with two goals: developing world-class higher education institutions and world-class training.

Phuong Anh (According to Times Higher Education )

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