Highly-influential university consulting company, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), based in London, has recently released its 2019 rankings for universities all over the globe, including China. Those studying in Nanjing will be pleased to know that their city’s universities occupy 10 places on the Mainland China 100 list.
Around the world, university is regarded as very important, but in China it is arguably the most significant milestone for most Chinese families. Domestic university spots with a high ranking are every Chinese parent and high school student’s dream. However, as the competition tightens for China’s top 100, places are fast becoming unattainable, which means international options are increasing in popularity, especially with the growing, wealthier, middle class.
Nanjing ESL teacher, Rebecca Gillard, told The Nanjinger, “A new student attended my class the other day and when I asked her name she said, ‘Harvard’. I later asked her father why he decided to name his 4-year-old daughter this and he responded with, ‘Harvard university is the best in the whole world, and my daughter will be there one day. I love it so much I named her after it’. This exchange highlights just how important university is to the modern Chinese parent.
QS World University Rankings are based on eight different categories; academic reputation (30 percent), employer evaluation (20 percent), staff to student ratio (20 percent), teachers and doctors (10 percent), citations per paper (5 percent), papers per faculty (10 percent), international teachers (2.5 percent) and international students (2.5 percent). Universities can be thus ranked from 1 to 100.
When looking at the World University Rankings 2019, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) comes in first, followed by Stanford University, Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, Oxford University, Cambridge University, ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Imperial College London, University of Chicago and UCL University College London. China’s top institution for higher learning is Tsinghua University at 17, while our own Nanjing University comes in at 122.
Domestic rankings for Mainland China lists Tsinghua first followed by Peking University, Fudan University, University of Science and Technology of China, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Nanjing University, Sun Yat-sen University, Wuhan university and Harbin Institute of Technology.
When comparing records with those recorded by Chinese Gao Kao (high school examination) website, Gaosan, Nanjing University, with 2,963 enrolled international students and 662 international staff, has gained a place by lifting itself from 8 to 7 on the mainland China list over the past 2 years. Nanjing Normal University, on the other hand, has fluctuated dramatically. With 1,470 international students and 33 international staff , its spot went from 48 in 2017 to 54 in 2018. This year, another drop, to 66th place.
With approaching 60 institutions of higher learning listed in Nanjing, our city is well known as “University Town” and one of the places to be in China for aspiring graduates. In addition, Nanjing Normal University is the National Base of Teaching Chinese for Foreigners, accepting international students from well over 100 counties annually, while it has also established cooperative relationships with 145 universities in 28 countries and regions.
According to the Ministry of Education, by 2017, China had a total of 2,914 colleges and universities. Out of China’s top 100, Nanjing proudly takes up 10 seats on the list, with Nanjing University now coming in seventh; No. 26, Southeast University; No. 40, Nanjing University of Science and Technology; No. 42, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics; No. 57, Nanjing Medical University; No. 66, Nanjing Normal University; No. 71, Nanjing Agricultural University; No. 86, China Pharmaceutical University; No. 87, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology and last but not least, No. 93, Hohai University.
It is one thing trying to choose a top university for your child, but altogether another to find one in a great location. It is no surprise therefore, that according to QS World University Rankings, London is rated No.1, followed by Tokyo, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, Munich, Berlin, Zurich and Sydney. Beijing comes in at 26, Shanghai at 29 and Nanjing at lucky 88.
