While regions such as the U.S. and Europe are often celebrated for their colleges and universities, Asia, too, is home to some of the Best Global Universities. 

Right here on Collegelearners, you are privy to a litany of relevant information on best colleges in Asia, Asia university rankings 2022, and so much more. Take out time to visit our catalog for more information on similar topics.

Best Colleges In Asia

The 2022 Asia University Rankings reveal the best colleges and universities in Asia, featuring institutions from 31 territories.

Japan leads the way with 118 universities in the ranking, while China comes second, with 97 ranked institutions. India is the third most represented country, with 71 universities.

Hong Kong and China are the most represented regions in the top 10, with three universities each. 

The Asia University Rankings are based on the same 13 performance indicators as the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, but these have been recalibrated to reflect the attributes of Asia’s universities. Here’s the methodology in full.

Top five universities in Asia

1. Tsinghua University, China

Tsinghua University has been committed to a multidisciplinary system for more than 30 years, having undergone many changes since its establishment in 1911.

It is known as one of the most elite universities in China, admitting only those students who score extremely highly in the national exams.

The university offers 51 undergraduate programmes and more than 200 postgraduate degrees.

Tsinghua, which features in the top 20 in the overall THE World University Rankings, also achieves a top 40 position in all 11 of Times Higher Education’s subject rankings. 

The campus is in northwest Beijing in a district specifically designated as a university hub. Its buildings feature examples of both traditional Chinese architecture and Western styles. Built on the former site of the Qing dynasty royal gardens, the campus has been named one of the most beautiful in the world.

Many graduates become influential at home and abroad, most notably in Chinese politics. Particle physicist Chen-Ning Yang is a Nobel prizewinner associated with the university.

2. Peking University, China

Peking University was the first modern national university in China, founded at the end of the 19th century.

Now it is known as a centre for progressive thought and research excellence. It has 216 research centres, two of which are national engineering institutions.

Although the university teaches and researches across science, the social sciences and humanities, it particularly stands out internationally for physical sciences and engineering.

The university library is the largest of its kind in Asia, holding 11 million books and other resources.

After relocating in 1952, the main campus is now on the former site of the Qing dynasty imperial gardens and still has some of the original features and landscaping, including gardens, pagodas and historic buildings.

The entrance gates to the campus have murals on the ceiling that are attractions in their own right.

On campus, there are specific dormitories for the 2,000 international students.

Many prominent thinkers in China are alumni of Peking University. Three Nobel prizewinners are also associated with the institution.

3. National University of Singapore, Singapore

The oldest institution in Singapore and the largest by student numbers, the National University of Singapore combines research excellence and innovation.

It ranks in the top 25 in the world overall, with particularly high scores for research and international outlook, and a standout performance in engineering and technology, law and computer science. 

The entrepreneurial focus at the university dates back three decades to the formation of a dedicated centre for innovation and technopreneurship.

NUS uses Oxbridge-style teaching through small group tutorials, and US-style course credits to make up the degree requirements. Degree programmes are more flexible than those in the UK; as in the US system, students may transfer between courses early in their degree, take modules across different faculties and are required to have a broad, cross-disciplinary selection of courses.

Many students live on campus in one of the 6,000 residential places across various halls, all served by an internal shuttle bus to take them around campus.

Notable alumni include four Singaporean prime ministers and presidents, two Malaysian prime ministers, and many other politicians, businesspeople and local luminaries.

4. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

English is the main language of instruction at the University of Hong Kong, located in Pokfulam.

It was founded by the British governor in 1911 but began to integrate Chinese culture and education into its courses by 1927, when the first degree in Chinese was offered.

The buildings on the main campus in the Mid-Levels neighbourhood of Hong Kong Island are some of the only remaining examples of British colonial architecture. The Main Building, completed in 1912, is the oldest structure and has been declared a national monument.

Admissions are extremely selective: there are about 12 applications for every place for an international undergraduate. For students from mainland China, only one student gets a place for every 31 applications.

Undergraduate courses take four years to complete, with a further year or two for medical programmes. All local students are now required to take English and Chinese language courses.

HKU graduates have been fundamentally involved in building modern China’s political, economic and cultural landscape. Many are also in senior positions in the private sector.

5. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore is a research-intensive university with three campuses in Singapore.

As well as featuring in the top five in the 2022 Asia University Rankings, the institution also ranks highly for engineering and technology and computer science courses.

It consists of six colleges and schools as well as several research institutes, including Singapore’s National Institute of Education and the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

Spread over 200 acres, the Yunnan Garden Campus is the largest university campus in Singapore and is often considered one of the most beautiful campuses in the world.

The best universities in Asia 2022: the top 100

Asia Rank 2022	Asia Rank 2021	University	Country/region	World University Rank 2022
1	1	Tsinghua University	China	=16
2	2	Peking University	China	=16
3	3	National University of Singapore	Singapore	21
4	4	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	=30
5	5	Nanyang Technological University, Singapore	Singapore	46
6	6	The University of Tokyo	Japan	=35
7	7	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	49
8	9	Seoul National University	South Korea	=54
9	8	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong	66
10	11	Fudan University	China	60
11	12	Zhejiang University	China	=75
12	10	Kyoto University	Japan	61
13	16	Shanghai Jiao Tong University	China	84
14	13	Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)	South Korea	=99
15	23	Hong Kong Polytechnic University	Hong Kong	91
16	15	University of Science and Technology of China	China	=88
17	17	Nanjing University	China	=105
18	14	Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)	South Korea	=122
19	26	Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)	China	=162
20	21	Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST)	South Korea	=178
=21	20	National Taiwan University (NTU)	Taiwan	=113
=21	24	Yonsei University (Seoul campus)	South Korea	=151
23	18	Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)	South Korea	=185
24	19	City University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	=151
25	41	Wuhan University	China	157
26	34	Huazhong University of Science and Technology	China	181
27	22	Korea University	South Korea	201–250
28	28	King Abdulaziz University	Saudi Arabia	=190
29	30	Taipei Medical University	Taiwan	201–250
30	25	Tel Aviv University	Israel	201–250
=31	29	Kyung Hee University	South Korea	251–300
=31	27	Tohoku University	Japan	201–250
33	38	University of Macau	Macao	201–250
34	31	Alfaisal University	Saudi Arabia	201–250
35	64	China Medical University, Taiwan	Taiwan	301–350
36	32	Macau University of Science and Technology	Macao	251–300
37	=42	Khalifa University	United Arab Emirates	351–400
38	=39	Sun Yat-sen University	China	251–300
39	44	Central South University	China	301–350
40	36	Beijing Normal University	China	251–300
41	46	Sejong University	South Korea	251–300
42	37	Indian Institute of Science	India	301–350
43	47	Tongji University	China	301–350
=44	53	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia	351–400
=44	NR	National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University	Taiwan	301–350
46	35	Qatar University	Qatar	301–350
47	=42	Hanyang University	South Korea	351–400
48	=84	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals	Saudi Arabia	351–400
49	48	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Japan	301–350
50	52	Nagoya University	Japan	351–400
=51	=50	American University of Beirut	Lebanon	301–350
=51	61	East China Normal University	China	301–350
53	63	Osaka University	Japan	301–350
54	83	Shenzhen University	China	351–400
=55	49	University of Malaya	Malaysia	301–350
=55	=56	Nankai University	China	301–350
=57	59	Babol Noshirvani University of Technology	Iran	351–400
=57	33	Hebrew University of Jerusalem	Israel	301–350
59	54	National Tsing Hua University	Taiwan	351–400
60	=39	United Arab Emirates University	United Arab Emirates	351–400
61	=50	South China University of Technology	China	401–500
=62	60	Universiti Brunei Darussalam	Brunei Darussalam	351–400
=62	67	Tianjin University	China	401–500
64	45	Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences	Iran	351–400
65	NR	JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research	India	351–400
66	=133	Sichuan University	China	401–500
67	NR	University of Hail	Saudi Arabia	351–400
=68	55	Indian Institute of Technology Ropar	India	351–400
=68	NR	Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences	Iran	351–400
70	58	Sharif University of Technology	Iran	401–500
71	159	Southern Medical University	China	401–500
72	=148	University of Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	401–500
73	NR	Ton Duc Thang University	Vietnam	401–500
74	65	Hunan University	China	401–500
75	=80	Cankaya University	Turkey	401–500
=76	73	Koç University	Turkey	501–600
=76	72	Xi’an Jiaotong University	China	401–500
=78	=139	Asia University, Taiwan	Taiwan	501–600
=78	=68	Jordan University of Science and Technology	Jordan	401–500
=78	=68	Sabancı University	Turkey	501–600
81	=74	Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology	South Korea	501–600
82	=84	Beihang University	China	501–600
83	66	University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan	Japan	401–500
=84	92	University of Electronic Science and Technology of China	China	501–600
=84	96	Xiamen University	China	401–500
86	71	Southeast University	China	501–600
=87	=78	Indian Institute of Technology Indore	India	401–500
=87	=80	Northwestern Polytechnical University	China	501–600
89	NR	An-Najah National University	Palestine	401–500
90	70	Amirkabir University of Technology	Iran	501–600
=91	NR	Duy Tan University	Vietnam	401–500
=91	62	Hong Kong Baptist University	Hong Kong	401–500
93	=87	University of Peradeniya	Sri Lanka	401–500
94	=152	Yokohama City University	Japan	401–500
95	=111	Universiti Teknologi Petronas	Malaysia	501–600
=96	76	Iran University of Science and Technology	Iran	601–800
=96	NR	University of Tabuk	Saudi Arabia	401–500
98	=80	Technion Israel Institute of Technology	Israel	401–500
=99	201–250	Capital Medical University	China	501–600
=99	89	Zhejiang Normal University	China	501–600

Asia University Rankings 2022

The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2022 featured top colleges and universities from over 31 territories in Asia.

With Japan’s 118 universities marking their spot in the chart, the country represents the highest number of universities making to the rankings this year. While China bags the second place with 97 ranked institutions, India follows as the third most represented country, with 71 of its universities making it to the rankings. In terms of the top 10 institutions, China leads the way with several entries along with smaller geos such as South Korea, Hong Kong, etc.

While the Times Higher Education World University Rankings are based on 13 performance indicators, the Asia University Rankings reflect the attributes of Asian universities.

The Five Groups of Performance Indicators for Asian Universities

1. Teaching
2. Research
3. Citations 
4. International Outlook
5. Industry Income

The Universities Adjudged as Top 5 Universities in Asia for the Year 2022

1. Tsinghua University, China

• Multidisciplinary system
• Offers 51 undergraduate programs and more than 200 postgraduate degrees
• Also features in the top 20 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings
• Alma mater of yesteryear’s Nobel laureate particle physicist Chen-Ning Yang and many more notable scholars

2. Peking University, China

• Known for its research excellence
• It has around 216 research centers, 2 of which are national engineering institutions
• Teaches and researches across science, social sciences, and humanities
• Internationally recognized for physical sciences and engineering
• Largest library in Asia with over 11 million books and other resources
• It’s an alma mater of 3 Nobel laureates and other renowned scientists

3. National University of Singapore, Singapore

• Known for its research and international outlook
• Ranks in the top 25 in the World University Rankings
• Stands out for exemplary performance in engineering and technology, law, and computer science
• Instils entrepreneurial focus with its dedicated center for innovation and technopreneurship
• Has adapted Oxbridge-style teaching through small group tutorials along with US-style course credits
• Flexible degree programs with easy course transfers across disciplines
• Four Singaporean prime ministers and presidents, two Malaysian prime ministers, and others are amongst notable alumni of NUS

4. University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

• Follows English as the main language of instruction
• Its 10 academic faculties include: dentistry, biomedicine, architecture, education, humanities, law, economics, business administrations, linguistics, and political science.
• Past students have held senior positions in several sectors

5. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

• Research-intensive
• Renowned for engineering, technology, and computer science courses.