The latest Academic Ranking of World Universities, produced by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy shows a continuing trend of American decline and Chinese advance.

This ranking has a straightforward methodology. It is based on six indicators: Nobel and Fields awards to alumni and faculty, papers in Nature and Science, publications in the Science Citation Index and the Social Science Citation Index, and Productivity per Capita, a composite of the preceding metrics relative to the number of senior faculty.

The Shanghai rankings are generally quite stable apart from some fluctuations resulting from changes in the compilation of the lists of highly cited researchers. Nonetheless they have shown some consistent trends over the last few year, which have continued into this year’s table.

First, the ascent of Chinese universities continues. Peking University has risen form 43^rd to 29^th place, Peking University from 53^rd to 49^th and Zhejiang University from 70^th to 58^th. The number of Mainland Chinese universities in the top 500 has risen from 58 to 71.

In most of Asia, however, universities have failed to advance. The number of South Korean, Indian and Japanese universities in the top 500 is unchanged since last year.

American universities continue to drift downwards. There are four fewer US schools in the top 500 than last year. Some have fallen quite significantly:  Boston University from 76^th to 90^th, the University of Maryland College Park from 46^th to 53^rd, and the University of Pittsburgh from 89^th to 96^th.

This is in contrast to France four of whose universities have entered the top 100: Paris-Saclay University, PSL University, the University of Paris, and Université Grenoble Alpes.

Source

Academic Ranking of World Universities