Name: How China’s Universities are Ranking in 2025
Uploaded: 2024-07-22T00:00:35+08:00
Channel: Kay Marlowe
Description: 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

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:

14	Peking University
20	Tsinghua University
39	Fudan University
45	Shanghai Jiao Tong University
=47	Zhejiang University
=133	University of Science and Technology of China
145	Nanjing University
192	Tongji University
=194	Wuhan University
=252	Harbin Institute of Technology
=269	Tianjin University
271	Beijing Normal University
284	Southern University of Science and Technology
295	Xi’an Jiaotong University
300	Huazhong University of Science and Technology
=302	Beijing Institute of Technology
=316	Shandong University
331	Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou
=336	Sichuan University
=362	Xiamen University
=377	Nankai University
=385	South China University of Technology
=428	Southeast University
430	University of Science and Technology Beijing
=431	Central South University

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.

Rank	Name	FTE Students	Students per staff	Int.l Students	Female:Male Ratio
12	Tsinghua University	38,518	11.2	10%	n/a
14	Peking University	33,064	10.9	14%	n/a
43	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	38,472	12.6	9%	37 : 63
44	Fudan University	38,101	12.6	9%	52 : 48
=55	Zhejiang University	48,169	12.0	16%	n/a
57	University of Science and Technology of China	20,252	8.1	5%	n/a
73	Nanjing University	36,711	16.7	8%	54 : 46
=150	Sichuan University	49,117	15.9	5%	n/a
=158	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	57,663	15.5	4%	n/a
=164	Wuhan University	56,066	15.0	5%	n/a
=168	Harbin Institute of Technology	30,933	10.6	6%	n/a
=177	Beijing Normal University	26,439	14.4	9%	n/a
=185	Tongji University	31,632	11.3	15%	41 : 59
201–250	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	6,575	9.0	1%	n/a
201–250	Sun Yat-sen University	61,453	15.2	5%	48 : 52
201–250	Tianjin University	26,486	8.9	13%	n/a
251–300	Beijing Institute of Technology	34,050	13.4	8%	n/a
251–300	Nankai University	31,416	11.7	7%	n/a
251–300	South China University of Technology	40,449	12.6	6%	38 : 62
251–300	Xi’an Jiaotong University	45,764	14.7	7%	35 : 65
301–350	Beihang University	32,854	12.3	4%	n/a
301–350	East China Normal University	28,787	14.1	8%	64 : 36
301–350	Northwestern Polytechnical University	36,797	14.5	4%	25 : 75
301–350	Southeast University	39,637	12.4	4%	36 : 64
301–350	Xiamen University	44,715	15.1	2%	n/a

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.

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Kay Marlowe

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.