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.
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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