How China’s Universities are Ranking in 2025

China’s higher education system continues to make strides, even splashing global news in recent weeks for its adjustment of fees to match global ranks. As the demand for quality education grows, the assessment and ranking of Chinese universities have become increasingly important. Let’s take a look at which universities are ranking the highest in 2024 and 2025.

How Are Universities in China Ranked?

Universities are ranked by domestic and international university ranking publications. There are two in China: CUAA and Wu Shulian. Internationally, the commonly cited international rankings of world universities come from ARWU, THE World Rankings and QS World Rankings.

Here are the latest rankings released by four main publications.

CUAA BillionairesAcademic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)QS World RankingsTimes Higher Education THE World University Rankings

The CUAA ranking is quite simple. How many billionaires did the university produce? The top 9 Chinese universities based on billionaires in 2022 are:

Billionaires       Name of University

98                      Peking University
95                      Tsinghua University
74                      Zhejiang University
49                      Fudan University
34                      Renmin University of China
28                      Sun Yat-Sen University
27                      Shanghai Jiao Tong University
25                      Wuhan University
24                      South China University of Technology

You can find more information here (in Chinese).

The ARWU (formerly known as the Shanghai Jiao Tong Rankings) first published its list of world university ranking in June 2003. It was spearheaded by the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). SJTU is a leading university in China. In 2009, it was copyrighted by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy.

ARWU is widely considered the leading international ranking in China and often considered next to QS and THE international rankings. Note that the ARWU tends to be more heavily weighted towards research than teaching. Here’s a look at the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023.

QS World Rankings is an annual university rankings publication by Quacquarelli Symonds. It was inaugurated in 2004 and has since released many comparative data about university performance across the world. The QS World Rankings recently released its World University Rankings for 2025, here’s an overview of the results:

 

THE World University Rankings is a publication under Times Magazine that releases world university rankings every year. The performance indicators used by THE 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).

THE has published its 2024 rankings here. This is the general ranking for all subjects.

How Important are Rankings When Choosing a University?

Rankings can be helpful, however, it should not be the lone factor when deciding which Chinese University to study. Every university has different strengths and specializations. If you would like study engineering, it is advisable to choose a university with a strong reputation in the discipline or program of interest.

Begin preparing for the 2025 intake as early as possible to increase your chances of securing a spot.

Kay is a marketing assistant at China Admissions. A "third-culture kid" based in Thailand, she has had lifelong exposure to international communities and has worked with top global brands. Having studied abroad herself, she encourages young minds to invest in their self-development and foster an appreciation for new countries and cultures.
Kay Marlowe

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