Top universities in Asia

The recently released QS World University Rankings 2024 includes the largest list of Asian universities to date, with 856 institutions ranked.  

The major countries represented in the Asia region include Mainland China (133 institutions), India (148 institutions), Japan (96 institutions), South Korea (87 institutions), Pakistan (63 institutions) and Vietnam (15 institutions). 

The results are collected using a methodology that takes into account factors including academic and employer reputations, sustainability, and international research network (the output of academic research used and acknowledged worldwide). 

Read on to discover the top 10 universities in Asia

QS Asia University Ranking – Top universities in Asia
Asian rank	University	Location
1	Peking University	Mainland China
2	The University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong SAR
3	National University of Singapore	Singapore
=4	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore
=4	Tsinghua University	Mainland China
6	Zhejiang University	Mainland China
7	Fudan University	Mainland China
8	Yonsei University	South Korea
9	Korea University	South Korea
10	The Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong SAR

10. The Chinese University of Hong Kong

In 10th place is The Chinese University of Hong Kong which also ranks joint 47th worldwide. This institution earned a perfect score in the international faculty ratio. 

The university was founded in 1963 and aims to bring together China and the western world in their academic research. Today it has around 21,000 students, 4,500 of which are international students. 

9. Korea University

The next university on our list is Korea University, a new entry to the top 10. The university ranks nineth in Asia and 79th in the world. It performs particularly well in terms of employer reputation, taking the 12th highest score in Asia for this indicator and 40th in the world. 

Korea University was founded in 1905. Today it is attended by 37,000 students, over 2,000 of which are studying internationally. The university has two main campuses: Seoul Campus and Sejong Campus. 

8.Yonsei University

Another new institution featured in the Asian top 10 this year is Yonsei University which ranks eighth in Asia and 76th globally. The university scores well across several indicators but achieves a perfect score in employer reputation, in seventh place for this category. 

Yonsei University is attended by over 40,000 students, offers over 4,000 undergraduate programmes and over 2,000 postgraduate programmes covering a wide range of subjects in both English and Korean. It has two main campuses and one campus for international English-speaking students located just outside of Seoul. 

7. Fudan University

Another new addition to the top 10 rankings list this year is Fudan University which came seventh as well as 50th in the global ranking. Fudan University scored very highly in indicators such as academic reputation, where it scored 12th in Asia. 

Fudan University was the first higher education institution to be founded by a Chinese person in 1905. It is home to over 36,000 students including over 3,000 international students. 

6. Zhejiang University

Remaining in sixth place this year is Zhejiang University which also ranks joint 44th in the world. It has achieved impressive scores, particularly in the international research network indicator, highlighting the way research from Zhejiang University is engaged with all over the world. 

Zhejiang University first began in 1897 and was praised during the war period as one of the most prominent universities in the Republic of China. Today, it boasts seven campuses, eight libraries and around 73,000 students. Its graduate courses are particularly popular with almost 44,000 of its students being postgraduate. 

=4. Tsinghua University

Dropping one place this year is Tsinghua University. The university ranks very well in major indicators including academic reputation, where it earns a perfect score and employer reputation where it’s ranked third in Asia and 27th in the world. It also came 25th overall in the world university rankings. 

Tsinghua University is academically organised into 20 schools and 57 departments covering a broad range of subjects including science, engineering, arts and literature, social sciences, and medicine. Xinya College was established in 2014 as the school’s residential liberal arts college, as part of a series of reforms to undergraduate education. 

=4. Nanyang Technological University

In joint fourth place this year is Nanyang Technological University, one of two Singaporean universities in the top 10 universities in Asia for 2024. It has scored well across several indicators, most notably the international faculty ratio, where the university sits joint first in Asia, and international research network where it ranks eighth in Asia. 

Nanyang Technological University is embracing digital technologies for better learning and living as part of its ‘Smart Campus’ vision. The university has partnerships with the world’s leading technology companies such as Alibaba, Rolls-Royce, BMW, Volvo, Delta Electronics and Singtel in many areas of societal importance and impact including artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, smart transportation, computing, personalised medicine, healthcare, and clean energy.

3. National University of Singapore

Third this year is the National University of Singapore. The university sees a perfect score in both academic reputation and international faculty as well as ranking third in Asia for its employer reputation. 

The National University of Singapore has 17 faculties and schools across three campuses. Its transformative education includes a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 38,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives. 

2. The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s highest- ranked university for 2024 is The University of Hong Kong which ranks joint second in Asia and joint 26th in the world. It also ranks joint first in Asia in the international faculty ratio indicator and 13th in Asia for the citations per paper indicator. 

The University of Hong Kong’s exceptional academic standards and pioneering research attract many top-performing scholars from Hong Kong, Mainland China and from around the world.  

1. Peking University

Ranked first in Asia for the second year running is Peking University in Beijing, Mainland China. The school achieves a perfect score for academic reputation and a near- perfect score in the faculty with a PhD indicator, implying the high-quality work that staff at the university are able to produce and the knowledge that they are able to impart on the students. 

Peking University was founded in 1898 as a replacement for the Guozijian School (Imperial College). Since then, Peking University has been consistently ranked as one of China’s top academic institutions and is also known for its stunning campus grounds and traditional Chinese architecture.