QS has released its 2021 edition of the top Arab universities, which features 160 institutions, making it QS’ biggest list yet.
King Abdulaziz University (KAU) from Saudi Arabia tops the list with an overall score of 100, retaining the top spot from 2020. Contributing to KAU’s high rank are the perfect scores it achieved on citations per paper and international research network.
The American University of Beirut (AUB) from Lebanon also retains its second place rank with an overall score of 97.22. AUB earns a perfect score for the employer reputation indicator. Qatar University (QU) ranks third, climbing one spot from last year, with an overall score of 96.91. QU also earns a perfect score on faculty with PhD. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals from Saudi Arabia places fourth, dropping one spot from last year’s rankings, with an overall score of 96.64.
The UAE’s United Arab Emirates University still holds the fifth position with an overall score of 95.86. King Saud University from Saudi Arabia is in the sixth position, with an overall score of 90.63. It earns an almost perfect score of 99.78 on academic reputation. Another entry from the UAE is the American University of Sharjah, placing seventh. The university earns perfect scores on international/faculty ratio and faculty staff with PhD. From Oman, Sultan Qaboos University places eighth, with an overall score of 85.26. It is also worth noting that the university has a perfect score on faculty staff with PhD.
UAE’s Khalifa University enters the top 10 this year, placing ninth. They have climbed three spots from last year. The University of Jordan rounds out the top-10 list with an overall score of 81.36.
QS Ranking Methodology
This year’s rankings have been constructed using 10 different indicators: academic reputation (30%), employer reputation (20%), faculty/student ratio (15%), international research network (10%), web impact (5%), proportion of staff with a PhD (5%), citation per paper (5%), papers per faculty (5%), proportion of international faculty (2.5%) and proportion of international students (2.5%).
The methodology for this ranking has been developed with the aim of reflecting specific challenges and priorities for institutions in the region.
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Sources:
Top Universities in the Arab Region 2021
QS Arab Region University Rankings Methodology
