NTU Singapore rises to 11th in QS world university rankings

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has risen one place to be ranked 11th in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) global league table of top universities. 

This makes NTU and the National University of Singapore, which is also ranked 11th, jointly the highest ranked universities in the Asia Pacific.  

NTU has rapidly risen the QS world rankings, vaulting 62 places since 2009. This year, NTU’s biggest improvements were in research citations per faculty, which moved up ten positions to 36th, and employer reputation, which rose eight places to 35th. NTU’s academic reputation climbed one place to 37th, while its international faculty ranking went up one place to 21st. 

NTU has been steadily climbing the various global league tables as it continues to strive for excellence in education, research and innovation, and for enhancing in the impact of its work within Singapore and around the world. This latest achievement in QS is yet another indication that NTU’s investment and efforts are being recognised, and that NTU continues to be highly regarded by academics and employers worldwide.  

Building on its record of rapid progress and accomplishments during the past quarter century, NTU’s current phase of growth in global stature began in January 2018 with the appointment of eminent American scientist and academic leader, Professor Subra Suresh, as its fourth president.Prof Suresh and his new leadership team have introduced a number of new initiatives and programs in education, research and innovation. 

The new leadership team, along with the academic units, has overseen within the past year and a half the recruitment of top talent to NTU, comprising highly accomplished faculty members from Singapore and around the world. The Presidential Post-doctoral Fellows program, launched in 2018, has attracted applications from nearly 900 young scholars from top institutions around the world, for only 12 positions this year.

While no single ranking can fully reflect all aspects of a university’s performance, NTU’s strong momentum and upward trajectory have been consistently reflected in severalglobal rankings reported within the past year by independent international organisations that use different criteria and metrics. For example, in the annual rankings published a few months ago by US News and World Report, NTU was placed among the world’s Top 50 universities for the first time. 

In addition, NTU was chosen by US News and World Report to be among the top five institutions in the world in four major subject areas – materials science (first place), chemistry (second place), computer science (second place) and engineering (fifth place).

In March 2019, the University established the NTU Institute of Science and Technology for Humanity (NISTH) to study the impact of technology on society, and to bring industry, government and academia together to find ways to enhance the use of technology for the betterment of humanity and society. 

NTU’s graduates are also highly sought after in the global workplace. About 90 per cent of the NTU Class of 2018 graduates found a job within six months of completing their final examinations. This is a reflection of employers’ confidence in the quality of education that NTU graduates receive.

The world’s top 1,000 universities are ranked in this year’s QS World University Rankings. Based on six performance indicators, universities are assessed in key areas of research, teaching, employability and internationalisation.