Top 10 Universities in the BRICS Countries 2014

The University of Science and Technology of China has climbed two places since the last edition of the BRICS ranking. It has improved scores on several indicators, most notably for proportion of academic staff members qualified to PhD level. Based in the city of Hefei (about four hours’ drive south of Beijing), the university was founded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences with a mission of contributing to China’s growing economy through education and development in the science and technology fields. Its strong research focus is reflected in high scores for both productivity and impact; it ranks fourth among BRICS universities for papers published per faculty member and seventh for citations per paper.

Continuing China’s dominance of the top 10 universities in the BRICS countries, Fudan University is rated third among BRICS institutions by employers and fourth by academics. It also comes fourth in the research citations indicator – China’s top scorer on this measure – but falls one place overall this year, having reported a weaker faculty/student ratio. Located in Shanghai, it is (like all of the Chinese universities within this top 10) a C9 member, and also part of the Universitas 21 international network of universities. Its international focus is reflected in a high percentage of international students; among these top 10 universities, it has the third strongest score for this indicator.

Also down one place overall this year, Nanjing University has lost ground in several indicators, including those assessing proportion of international students, staff members with a PhD and faculty/student ratio. However, it retains strong scores for global academic reputation (seventh among BRICS universities), proportion of international faculty members (ninth), and citations per paper (11th) – clearly earning a place among the top 10 universities in the BRICS countries. Its location, the city of Nanjing, is preparing to host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, and has long been one of China’s most significant commercial centers.

Brazil’s leading representative in the BRICS ranking, the Universidade de São Paulo fares even better when competing with universities in the Latin American region; it’s second in the 2014 QS University Rankings: Latin America. Here, it comes third in the global academic survey, behind the top two Chinese institutions, and fifth in the employer survey. It ranks seventh among BRICS institutions for proportion of academic staff with a PhD – scoring higher on this indicator than any of the other top 10 universities listed here – and 12th for research papers per faculty member.

China’s sixth representative among the top 10 universities in the BRICS countries, Shanghai Jiao Tong University is rated sixth in the academic survey and fourth among employers. Its strongest score, however, is for papers published per faculty member – it boasts the strongest figure among the BRICS institutions on this measure. Despite this major strength, it loses two places overall this year, with weaker scores for proportion of international academics and faculty/student ratio.

Brazil’s second entry in the BRICS list, the Universidade Estadual de Campinas is currently at third place in the Latin American ranking. It’s rated ninth among BRICS universities by academics and 14th by employers, with another strong score for proportion of staff with a PhD (10th). Like fellow Brazilian Universidade de São Paulo, it climbs one place overall this year, having strengthened its score for research citations. Faculty/student ratio remains its weakest area – and indeed, this is the lowest-scoring area for many of these top 10 universities in the BRICS group.

Finally, sharing ninth position, the University of Cape Town climbs two places this year, to give South Africa a top-10 representative. It’s the highest overall scorer for research citations, which is also a relatively strong point for fellow South African institutions University of the Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch University; both make the BRICS top 10 on this indicator. The University of Cape Town also scores notably well in the internationalization measures, ranking sixth among BRICS universities for proportion of international students and seventh for international faculty members – in both cases, the strongest scores among these top 10 universities. Its weakest areas are faculty/student ratio and proportion of staff with a PhD.