On September 26th, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 were released with Southern University of Science and Technology being listed for the first time. SUSTech was ranked eighth (8th) among the 72 mainland China universities on the list.

The rankings show that as a new university in China, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) performed well in this ranking, especially in research, citations and international outlook as it entered the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the first time. SUSTech has performed well in citations, one of the five major performance areas. SUSTech’s published works were cited more than any other mainland China university on average, by scholars globally, giving it the No. 1 domestic rank for excellence in citations.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Times Higher Education (THE) magazine. The publication provides the definitive list of the world’s best universities, evaluated across teaching, research, international outlook, reputation and more.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are the global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook, by using 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons in order to rank over 1000 best universities in the world from 86 countries and regions around the world.

The performance indicators are grouped into five areas: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income, and reputation); citations (research influence); international outlook (staff, students and research); and industry income (knowledge transfer).

In order to ensure the fairness and transparency, the calculation of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2019 has been independently audited by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings,QS World University Rankings, US News World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)  are recognized as the world’s four leading university rankings.

Dr. Phil Baty, Editorial Director of Global Rankings at Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said, “I would like to offer my huge congratulations to SUSTech in Shenzhen, in China – a new university, only 6 years old. ”

He said, “SUSTech has entered the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the first time, and it has taken a position in the top 350. It’s a remarkable achievement for such a young institution and a testament to the outstanding commitment to excellence in teaching and research across China. It’s China’s highest new entrant to the rankings.”

Background information

On September 20, 2018, the Nature Index 2018 Rising Star, showed that 51 of the world’s 100 fastest-rising organizations were from China. Among them, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) was ranked fourth.

The Nature Index 2018 Rising Stars specifically pointed out that they paid special attention to young universities that were established after 1988 and outlined the scientific progress they have made. The universities explicitly discussed SUSTech, which has more than four times the index’s growth and ranks first among the rising stars of young universities.

According to the latest Natural Index ranking in 2018, Southern University of Science and Technology ranked 26th among Chinese universities.

In May 2017, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) released the “Best China University Rankings” in 2018. SUSTech ranked 43rd in the country with excellent indicators, including the research quality (FWCI) , a single indicator, ranked 1st in the country.

In February 2018, according to the “2018 China University Evaluation”, SUSTech ranked 16th; among them, according to the Chinese university teachers teaching and research efficiency indicators, SUSTech ranked second in the country.

2018 July 12’s update of Essential Science Indicators (ESI) ranking saw SUSTech make its debut. Both its chemistry and material science majors were ranked within the top 1% of such majors in the world.