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Hebrew University ranked 59th in the world

Friday, 16. August 2013 - 17:09

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked as the 59th best academic institution in the world in a list released on Thursday by the Center for World-Class Universities at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is widely regarded as one of the most influential and objective rankings of universities in the world. Since its inception in 2003, the Hebrew University has been ranked in the top 100 every year, peaking at No. 52 in 2010. The institution was also ranked at No. 17 in terms of the number of alumni to have been awarded Nobel Prizes or Fields Medals, and No. 39 for the number of faculty to have won these awards.

2013 is the second consecutive year that three Israeli universities have been ranked in the top 100, with the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa reaching No. 77 and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot being ranked No. 92.

Both the Technion and Weizmann were ranked one spot higher than in 2012, while Hebrew University dropped six spots from its previous ranking of 53.

Hebrew University’s president, Prof. Menachem Ben-Sasson, said that he was “pleased that once again the Hebrew University has been recognized as Israel’s leading university.” Ben-Sasson added that he was “proud to see the prominent positions of Israeli research universities in these important international rankings,” according to a statement by Hebrew University.

He attributed his institution’s success to the “hard work of our faculty and the university community, and their continuing quest for uncompromising academic and research excellence.”

Besides being rated as Israel’s top university, Hebrew University’s ranking placed it as the third top academic institution in Asia, behind the University of Tokyo (No. 20) and Kyoto University (No. 26).

As has been the case every year since the first ARWU ranking, Harvard University was ranked as the world’s best with Stanford University following at second.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was ranked No. 3 for the third consecutive year, followed by the University of California-Berkeley, while England’s Cambridge University rounded out the top 5.

Among Israeli institutions, Tel Aviv University was ranked between 101 and 150, Bar-Ilan University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev both between 301 and 400, and Haifa University in the 401-500 list.

Ariel University was the only Israeli institution of higher learning not included in the world’s top 500. The school was granted university status in July 2013 by Israel’s Council for Higher Education, but because of its location in the West Bank, it has not been recognized as such by the rest of the world.

Asher Zeiger

Source: 
www.timesofisrael.com
Tags: 
Academic Ranking of World Universities 2013
Israel