Tsinghua University ranked the second-best university in Asia

And not to brag, but Peking University also came third

Tsinghua and Peking University are the second and third-best universities in Asia, according to the 2018 Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings. Judged on criteria such as teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook, this year's rankings include over 350 universities from 25 regions and countries. 

Singapore's National University topped the list for the third consecutive year, while Tsinghua University overtook Peking University to become China's top education institution in the rankings. Though Peking University is still ranked higher than Tsinghua on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (27 and 30 respectively), Tsinghua ranks higher in the Asia rankings due to a difference in metric weightings. Research productivity, research income and industry income all carry more weight in Asia rankings, in comparison to teaching and research reputation.

Overall, Japan has the largest number of universities in the list of 350 with 89 institutions making the cut, while China comes in second with the inclusion of 63 universities. However, both Thailand and Taiwan's institutions have fallen down the table as both nations grapple with ageing populations and an oversupply of higher education. 

According to a separate ranking system conducted by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (AWRU), Tsinghua also tops a list of 600 Mainland universities. With 24 of the top 100 universities located in the capital, Beijing ranks first among cities boasting top-quality tertiary institutions, with Jiangsu province coming in second with 17 and Shan 48 27650 48 13477 0 0 7810 0 0:00:03 0:00:01 0:00:02 7808ghai third with 10.

Top 10 Asian universities

1. National University of Singapore

2. Tsinghua University

3. Peking University

4. University of Hong Kong

5. (TIE) Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

5. (TIE) Nanyang Technological University

7. Chinese University of Hong Kong

8. University of Tokyo

9. Seoul National University

10. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Want to check out both Tsinghua and Peking University? Hit 'Read more' for a mapped out bike tour between both locations. 

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