King Abdulaziz University (KAU) made it to the 44th position on the 2022 edition of the Best Global Universities List by ‘U.S. News.” The university’s impressive ranking in the top 100 list means it is now the top university in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Middle East, and the fourth best in Asia. The other Saudi university to clinch a position on the list was King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which came in at number 97. The university was ranked ninth in Asia and the second best in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. By being included on the list that is dominated by universities in the US and UK, both higher education institutions continue to cement their world-class reputations.
The schools were rated using a multivariable methodology and weights “U.S. News” developed. Encompassing the top 1,750 universities worldwide,13 separate ranking factors were taken into consideration, focusing on institutions' academic research performance indicators, such as citations and publications, and their global and regional reputations. The methodology for the five regional rankings of the top universities in Africa, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Europe and Latin America was based entirely on their position in the overall Best Global Universities rankings. Likewise, the methodology for the 46 country rankings was based wholly on how a school rated in the overall Best Global Universities rankings.
KAU, located in Jeddah, has recently made enormous quantitative and qualitative advancements when it comes to enrollment and variety of academic programmes. Established in 1967, the public higher education institution is a new addition to the top 50, along with Belgium’s Catholic University of Leuven, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Australia’s Monash University. In the Asian category, the university came behind Beijing’s Tsinghua University (No.1), National University of Singapore (No.2) and Nanyang Technological University, also based in Sinapore. KAUST, the Thuwal-based graduate research university, the other Saudi gem on the list, made the cut despite being just over a decade old.
This year, 29 of the top 50 universities are in North America, with most of them located in the US, including the top three on the list: Harvard (No.1), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No.2) and Stanford University (No.3). However, more of the top 50 Best Global Universities are located outside of North America than in the previous edition of the rankings. Those in Europe include Oxford University (No.5), one of the six UK institutions to appear in the top 50. In all 13 of the top 50 universities are located in Europe, while four are in Australia/New Zealand and Asia respectively.
