New QS Rankings Point to Next Generation of Elite Universities

LONDON, May 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Results on http://www.topuniversities.com

The rapid rise of a new generation of elite institutions is showcased in a new ranking of the world's leading universities under the age of 50.

Asia claims a remarkable six of the top ten universities in the QS Top 50 Under 50 ranking, with CUHK and HKUST beating the UK's Warwick University to the top spots.

23 countries are represented, led by Australia with ten institutions, followed by the UK with eight.

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                                QS Top 50 Under 50
                     2011 World
                     University
       Under 50       Rankings                                  Establishment
                                   Institution      Country          Year

                                  The Chinese
                                  University of
                                  Hong Kong
          1              37       (CUHK)               HK            1963
                                  The Hong Kong
                                  University of
                                  Science and
                                  Technology
          2              40       (HKUST)              HK            1991
                                  The University
          3              50       of Warwick           GB            1964
                                  Nanyang
                                  Technological
                                  University
          4              58       (NTU)                SG            1991
                                  KAIST - Korea
                                  Advanced
                                  Institute of
                                  Science and
          5              90       Technology           KR            1971
                                  University of
          6              96       York                 GB            1963
                                  Pohang
                                  University of
                                  Science and
                                  Technology
          7              98       (POSTECH)            KR            1986
                                  Maastricht
          8             109       University           NL            1976
                                  City
                                  University of
          9             110       Hong Kong            HK            1984
                                  University of
                                  California,
          10            148       Irvine (UCI)         US            1965

(c)QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2012 http://www.topuniversities.com

Four of the top seven are Asian scientific institutions, with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University outranking Western universities such as University of York and University of California, Irvine despite having been in existence for just 21 years.

"New science-based institutions have been established to drive innovation and growth in booming economies such as Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore," says  Ben Sowter, head of the QS Intelligence Unit. "Their superior performance compared to Western universities established within the same time frame is testament to Asia's dynamism."

QS Top 50 Under 50 has been published alongside the annual QS University Rankings: Asia to demonstrate the dramatic effects of Asian expenditure on international higher education.

The prominence of younger Asian institutions has been put down to a boom in scientific research. As the West tightens its belt following the recession, continued growth in countries such as China, Korea and Singapore has facilitated ambitious investment programs.

Universities in Singapore and Korea have benefited from multi-billion dollar investment programs, while China doubled its main scientific research budget between 2009 and 2011.  

While Asia takes the top spots, in terms of its number of leading young institutions it is Australia that dominates, reflecting its economic position at the crossroad between East and West. North America is represented by just one US university and three from Canada.

In continental Europe, Germany and Spain both see three of their young universities each in this table, with Scandinavia, France, Belgium and The Netherlands also contributing at least one institution.  Only one Brazilian university represents Latin American, while the Middle East contingent comprises one university apiece from Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Full results of QS Top 50 Under 50 are available on http://www.topuniversities.com

SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds