https://www.marketwatch.com/story/for-the-first-time-china-outnumbers-the-u-s-on-this-ranking-of-the-worlds-best-universities-11666729011
U.S. for the first time in this ranking of the world’s ‘best’ universities
Last Updated: Oct. 25, 2022 at 7:43 p.m. ET
First Published: Oct. 25, 2022 at 4:16 p.m. ET
By Zoe Han
Artificial intelligence is among the few fields that both the U.S. and
China regard as a strategic national priority
Some 338 Chinese universities made the U.S. News & World Report’s ‘Best
Global Universities Rankings,’ compared to 280 American universities.
MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto
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China has surpassed the U.S. on a major ranking of the world’s best
universities.
Among the 2,000 schools from more than 90 countries ranked by U.S. News
& World Report, 338 Chinese universities made the list, compared to 280
American universities. It’s the first time China outnumbered the U.S.
Results were reported in the media outlet’s “Best Global Universities
Rankings” released Tuesday. The U.S. and China were followed by Japan
(105 universities), the United Kingdom (92), and India (81).
The media outlet began its ranking in 2014 as more universities began
competing for students, as well as faculty and research investments. The
rankings are based on a range of parameters, including research
reputation, publications, conferences and citations. Student outcomes
and individual programs are not included.
Although China surpassed the U.S. by 58 spots, the majority of U.S.
universities appear in the top half of the rankings, including 8 of the
top 10, the report noted.
Here is the overall top 10 list:
Harvard University (U.S.)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.)
Stanford University (U.S.)
University of California–Berkeley (U.S.)
University of Oxford (U.K.)
University of Washington–Seattle (U.S.)
Columbia University (U.S.)
University of Cambridge (U.K.)
California Institute of Technology (U.S.)
Johns Hopkins University (U.S.)
The report added four new subjects to its 43 rankings: artificial
intelligence; education and educational research; meteorology and
atmospheric sciences; and water resources. “They’re hot fields right now
and there is a lot of interest at different levels,” Robert Morse, chief
data strategist at U.S. News, told MarketWatch in an email.
Among the top 10 schools for A.I., five schools were from mainland
China; the U.S.’s Carnegie Mellon also ranked high.
While public-health concerns and travel restrictions related to the
pandemic partly led to the dramatic fall in numbers over the past two
years, increasing tensions between the two countries have also pushed
Chinese students to gradually look for alternatives, both in China and
non-U.S. options.
International student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities
peaked in the 2015-2016 academic year and has been falling since then,
the Institute of International Education said, citing visa concerns,
competition from other countries with better access to work visas, and
stronger social and political ties between China and other nations.
Here are the top 10 universities in Asia:
Tsinghua University (China)
National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
Peking University (China)
Chinese University of Hong Kong (China)
University of Hong Kong (China)
King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia)
University of Tokyo (Japan)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)
Zhejiang University (China)
Artificial intelligence is among the few fields that both the U.S. and
China regard as strategic national priorities. The Biden administration
signed the National AI Initiative Act of 2020 into law in 2021, aiming
to advance U.S. leadership in the field.
“The world’s leading powers are racing to develop and deploy new
technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing that
could shape everything about our lives — from where we get energy NG00,
1.44%, to how we do our jobs, to how wars are fought,” Secretary of
State Antony J. Blinken said last year.
“We want America to maintain our scientific and technological edge,
because it’s critical to us thriving in the 21st century economy,”
Blinken said in a speech at a technology summit last year.
Among the top 10 schools for A.I., five schools were from mainland
China, including Tsinghua University, which ranked No. 1. Carnegie
Mellon University is the best U.S. college for A.I. research, ranking
No. 12 on the list. China also leads in other science subjects,
including nanoscience, nanotechnology, polymer science, engineering and
physical chemistry.
Fewer Chinese students have attended college in the U.S. since the
coronavirus pandemic. From January to September 2022, 52,034 Chinese
nationals received F-1 visas, down from 95,518 for the same period in
2019, according to the U.S. State Department data. The F-1 visa is used
by international students to gain a degree or an academic certificate in
the U.S.