Kyoto University Ranked As Best Japanese University for Students

Kyoto University beat the University of Tokyo to the top spot in the Japanese University Rankings 2019 of the best universities for students, issued by Times Higher Education. In the previous year’s ranking, the two universities shared the top spot. The top 10 universities in the ranking were all national or public universities, while the top-ranked private institutions were International Christian University (eleventh), Waseda University (thirteenth), and Keiō University (fourteenth).

Top-15 Universities in Japan

Compiled by Nippon.com based on data from Times Higher Education.

THE used four main categories for its ranking. The University of Tokyo finished first for “resources,” which includes finance and faculty members per student, while Kyoto University ranked first for “outcomes,” which measures academic reputation and reputation among employers. However, the public institution Akita International University was the top university for “engagement,” based in part on its development of global talent and student abilities, and “environment,” which includes such factors as the proportion of international staff and students.

THE used different criteria for its World University Rankings 2019 (considering over 1,250 universities in 86 countries), giving weight to research and citations, in addition to teaching. The University of Oxford ranked first, followed by the University of Cambridge and Stanford University. In this list, the University of Tokyo finished forty-second ahead of Kyoto University, which was sixty-fifth. They were the only two Japanese universities in the top 100.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)