Asia and Latin America University Rankings 2012

QS’s regional rankings for Asia and Latin America shine a light on top universities in these regions. Discover 2012's ones to watch.

In 2009, QS introduced a new university ranking focusing exclusively on universities in Asia, the world’s biggest and most populous continent. Two years later, an equivalent ranking was released for Latin America.

These rankings allow students to assess the quality of universities in these regions, which often are not represented in the main QS World University Rankings, simply because only so many universities can make the list of 700.

Both rankings employ slightly different methodology than that used for the wider ranking, reflecting the regions’ different priorities. You can read more about the different methodology employed here (Asia) and here (Latin America).

So what did the 2012 editions of these rankings, released in early summer tell us?

2012 QS University Rankings: Asia

The story at the top of the QS University Rankings: Asia was one of consistency, with the 21-year-old Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) topping the table for the second year running, ahead of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University.

The top-10 generally is young, averaging at 77.5 years old, compared to 338.6 for the world rankings – indicative of an extremely dynamic region.

Chinese investment in universities has continued to pay dividends, with nine of the top-10 Chinese institutions moving up, including Peking University, which overtakes the University of Tokyo for the first time – mirroring China overtaking Japan in terms of GDP.

Japan’s top-10; on the other hand, all lost ground, though it remains one of region’s – and the world’s – higher education powerhouses.

With NUS moving up into second, and Nanyang Technological University remaining at 17, Singapore performs well, with strong internationalization policies benefitting both universities. And with seven institutions in the rankings (four in top-15), Asia’s other city-state, Hong Kong, also reasserts its status.

South Korea’s performance is noteworthy. Above average investment in education and research has paid off, with the 15 leading Korean universities improving their positions, led by Seoul National University, which climbs from sixth to fourth place.A total of 55 Korean universities feature the top-300 – a figure only Japan and China better.

Outside of these nations, we see India once again underperforming, with only 11 universities in the ranking, the vast majority of which are various Indian Institutes of Technology. Internationalization has been identified as a key issue.

The Philippines also performed poorly, with all its universities losing ground as budget cuts kick in.

Taiwan, on the other hand, increases its share of top-200 universities by three, taking the total up to 19. And in more good news for the nation, National Taiwan University also broke into the top 20.

Malaysia’s results were mixed, with top ranked Universiti Malaya’s move up to 35 offset by the drop in position of nine out of its 15 ranked universities.Thailand also lost ground, with two fewer universities (12).

2012 QS University Rankings: Latin America

Universidade de São Paulo (USP) topped the QS University Rankings: Latin America for the second year running, leading a strong cohort of Brazilian universities which accounts for 65 of the 250 ranked universities.

However, with four representatives, Chile dominates the top-10. Brazil, with three, is not far behind though. Mexico (two) and Colombia (one) provide the other three.

The Brazilian dominance of the rankings can be ascribed to serious investment in research and education, and a consolidated push to improve access. It also leads the way in terms of the proportion of academics with PhDs.

It’s not all about Brazil though. The universities held in the highest regard by academics and employers – Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and Tecnológico de Monterrey respectively – are both based in Latin America’s northernmost outpost, Mexico.Four Mexican institutions can be found in the top-20 in all.

Chile’s progress in the ranking is noteworthy, and the nation does particularly well in terms of research impact, performing well in terms of papers produced and how often they are cited. In terms of staff with PhDs and student faculty ratio, however, it performs less well.

With only two top-20 institutions, a loss of top-10 status for Universidad de Buenos Aires and a drop in rank for the nation’s entire top-10, Argentina’s performance will be troubling.

The extension of the rankings to 250 from 200 in 2011 was beneficial to Colombian universities, 14 of which are represented here. The institutions perform well in terms of reputation, but less so in terms of research output and student faculty ratios.

These five countries account for 201 out of 250 universities. The remaining places are split between 14 other nations, with Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (31) and Universidad Central de Venezuela (33) leading the way.

The Dominican Republic, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were all represented in the rankings for the first time, while Peru, Ecuador, Cuba, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Panama and Puerto Rico all retained institutions in the rankings.