The University of Hong Kong Ranks Among World’s 20 Best Varsities for 2025

The University of Hong Kong is the only tertiary educational institution in the city to feature among the 20 best universities for 2025, according to the latest QS World University Rankings released on Tuesday. HKU came in at No. 17 — its highest-ever ranking in the list’s 20-year history. MIT held on to the No. 1 spot for the 13th year running, while the topped-ranked Asian institution is the National University of Singapore (No. 8).

Other varsities in the SAR that made the top 100 are the Chinese University of Hong Kong (No. 36), the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (No. 47), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (57), and City University of Hong Kong (No. 62). Most of the Hong Kong institutions included in this year’s rankings improved their positions from 2024, with only Lingnan University dropping to the 711-720 range from last year’s 641-650 category.

The annual ranking is formulated by Britain-based education information firm Quacquarelli Symonds, and this year’s list is its largest ever, featuring over 1,500 universities across 105 higher education systems. It uses several criteria to rank universities, such as academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international student ratio, international research network, employment outcomes, and sustainability.

According to Quacquarelli Symonds officials, Hong Kong’s universities are among the world’s most improved institutions after making significant gains in their reputation among employers and research performance. However, they still face challenges when it comes to employment outcomes for graduates, which the firm says they need to balance with the city’s evolving economic and political landscape.

Header image credits: The University of Hong Kong

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